Sonic 3 and Knuckles
by NetRaptor
Summary: A trip to the Floating Island by Sonic and Tails takes a turn for the worst when Knuckles shows himself to be hostile. And they end up in every place from a desert to a lava mine to a ancient city built on the clouds ... and eventually the Death Egg, itse
1. Angel Island through Flying Battery.

  
  
Sonic 3 and Knuckles   
  
  
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Copyright stuff: Sonic, Tails, Dr. Robotnik, Metal Sonic, etc. copyrighted by Sega. Slasher copyrighted by K. M. Hollar. All rights (to Slasher) reserved.   
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Introduction:   
  
Sonic 3 and Knux is based on the Sega Genesis video game of the same title. Because of a quirk introduced into my fanfics, this takes place before the Great War, but while Sonic and Tails are only a year or so younger than they are in the rest of the stories. Time is easy to manipulate, you know.   
  
Knuckles's side is told in first person. It should be kept in mind that he is looking back on what he did and feeling mildly ashamed of himself.   
This story also explains a few things I always thought needed patching up. For instance, why Robotnik robotized his left arm. Why Tails refuses to use the chaos and super emeralds. Where Slasher comes in. Why Sonic and Knuckles are friends. How eight different zones fit on the Floating Island. When Metal Sonic was constructed and who built him. What finally happened to the Death Egg ...   
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Prologue   
  
Like a fiery comet the gigantic ship plunged from the sky. Flames licked through it's metal paneling, fanned to greater fury by the rushing wind created by it's descent. It made a screaming sound as it fell, like a missile or a bomb. The huge rockets were still going, but they were too hot--far too hot. Robotnik was losing control. He was in the cockpit of Death Egg, struggling desperately to steer it out of it's nose dive. But he couldn't. Alarms were going off all over the place, smoke clouded the cockpit.   
  
Robotnik brushed sweat from his forehead and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He stared through the smoke-darkened windshield, trying to see where he was. The altimeter was dropping rapidly, and he wanted to know whether he should bail out or crash. He thought briefly of his enemy, Sonic the Hedgehog, who had caused his ship to nearly self- destruct. If he landed Death Egg successfully, then Sonic would escape alive. But if he crashed ... No, he couldn't crash. It would take forever to build another battle station. (Robotnik didn't know Sonic had already bailed out. He thought the hedgehog was still on board.)   
  
The smoke cleared momentarily. Below him was the dark blue ocean. Perfect. He could splash down in the water, cooling the over- heated jets and extinguishing the fire. He didn't worry about spilling the leaking rocket fuel in the sea; Robotnik never worried about things like that. He flipped several switches on the dashboard, closing all outside doors. Then he concentrated on splashdown.   
  
The metal orb slammed into the water with a jarring crash that nearly threw Ivo from his chair. Death Egg plunged deep under the ocean. The flames were quenched with long, loud hissing protests, and the rockets turned from glowing red back to cool grey.   
  
After a few moments, Death Egg slowly rose to the surface and rotated so the rockets (the heaviest part of the base) were downward. The cockpit rolled to the surface. Robotnik was too busy shutting down all unnecessary operating systems to notice or even care. He was taking on only a little water, and that was soon fixed. Heat was sinking back into the green levels, and the alarms stopped.   
  
Then Robotnik realized his first problem. Death Egg was under water--he couldn't fire the rockets to launch again. There was another problem, too. He was nearly out of fuel. To get more he would have to land in his inland ground base, Launch Base. And he was miles and miles away from it. And incidentally, his radio was dead. For the first time in his life, Robotnik realized he needed help from the outside--and desperately. 

* * *

*

  
  
  
  
The wind was light that day. It fanned my face and ruffled my hair as I climbed to the top of the highest point on the island. A towering column of rock, the west face was rough and sheer--perfect for climbing. I don't climb the way mountain climbers do. I just dig in with my sharp knuckles and start. I think ropes and things just get in the way. It's easier my way.   
  
I pulled myself up the last few feet, then clambered onto the top. The bare surface of the rock was worn smooth from years of wind and rain. Being the highest place on my island--and in the geographical center--it just so happened to be my fave place for steering the island.   
  
I brushed the dust off my hands and knuckles, then scanned the island. Everything looked normal and healthy--the way a good guardian wants it to look.   
  
That's when I heard the sound. At first I thought I was hearing things, `cause it was like a high whistle, only far away. But it was getting louder by the minute. I turned in a circle, searching the sky for anything unusual. The sky was empty--nothing.   
  
A moment later, though, I spotted it. It was almost directly against the sun, but falling rapidly. It looked like a little grey sphere, but it had to be on fire because of the black trail of smoke it was leaving behind. I had seen a few aircraft in my time, but never one like that. I put my hands on my hips and watched. I felt safe. The island was in no danger. The ship-thing was at least two miles away, and the Floating Island was about a mile up, anyway. I tried to make it out again. It didn't look streamlined enough for any sort of jet, but it appeared to have rockets and stuff. I wondered what had happened to it.   
  
A moment later it plunged into the ocean. From the way it hit and the wave it caused, I thought for sure it had crumpled on impact. But no, five minutes later (about the time the tidal wave rolled beneath my island), it floated to the surface. There was a cloud of steam all around it from the extinguished fire and cooled metal. I wondered if anyone could still possibly be alive, after a ride like that. "Knuckles, you're too nosey," I said aloud when I realized I was considering gliding out there. But I could fly the island over there and look down.   
  
I had the Master emerald with me. Well, actually, a mini- ture. The original was deep underground in my Hidden Palace. I had changed its power into a tiny gem I could carry around. It was deep green, and I used it to steer the island wherever I wanted.   
  
I took it out now. Carefully I set it down on the rock, allowing it's power to flow into the ground. After an interval, I picked it up again, faced the direction of the partly submerged ship, and held out the emerald at arm's length. Floating Island began to move, impercept- ably at first, then faster. I kept my eyes trained on the dark patch in the water. If I looked away, my hand would move, too, and the island would change directions.   
  
The distance was greater than it had seemed at first, but I had flown the island often and held my arm steady. I half-closed my eyes against against the glare of the sun on the water. The smooth patch of quicksilver was broken in the middle by the top of the round craft. It must be really big, for it was motionless and seemed rock solid. As I drew nearer I could make out the metal paneling on the sides and top, surrounding the crown, which appeared to be a glassed-in cockpit. The rough style of the ship made me wonder if Dr. Robotnik had built it. I had never actually seen him or any of his creations, but Dad had told me all about him. How he wanted to make all animals into machines and digitize the entire planet. Dad had hated the doctor with a vengeance ever since his service in the Mobian Civil War. Well, maybe I would get to find out why.   
  
We were approaching the ship quickly now. I lowered my arm a little, and the island slowed accordingly. The thing was just below my line of vision, so I let my arm drop. The island stopped. I pocketed the emerald (I could feel it's warmth against my skin), then dove headfirst off the crag. But I didn't fall; not by any means. I stretched my arms out before me, and the spread of my red dreadlocks caught the air. I glided smoothly across the island to the very rim--or lip, or beach, or whatever you want to call it. I swung my feet down and landed on my toes. Then I peered over the edge, down toward the water.   
  
I was standing directly over the ship. It was round, like an orange. It was so big that I couldn't see the edges, where it would start to curve under. The depth of the water blocked my view of it. From what I could see it had burned up pretty badly. Black blotches marred the dull grey surface. But, to my surprise, I could see lights inside the round cockpit. Could someone still be alive in there ... ?   
  
I took out the emerald again, but this time when I held it out I cupped my other hand over the top of it. This caused the island to sink downward. I looked over the edge of the island, watching as the ocean slowly rose to meet the bottom of the island. I looked up at the center peak, the one I had just left. Then I looked down at the water again. The bottom of Floating Island was about as low as the crag was high. I had almost reached the limit for floating. Any lower and Floating Island would be a sinking island. Which meant that I was about a quarter of a mile up--around 2000 feet. That's a pretty good distance.   
  
I focused my attention on the ship again. I took my 'ground rope' (I use it to get to the ground--it's about 2000 feet long), tied it to a tree and flung the other end over the edge of the island. I took ahold of it and slid down it for a closer look at the gigantic craft. I couldn't see anybody moving around in the cockpit from above, but you never know. So anyway, I got to where I was about five feet above the water. I was really close to the cockpit, and I looked into the windows, trying to see if anybody was in there. And sure enough, something moved. I strained my eyes, trying to see who it was. He moved into the light, and I got my first look at the brilliant (but demented) Dr. Ivo Robotnik.   
  
I had never seen anybody so fat in my life. I mean, he was--round. And he had the biggest mustache I had ever known existed. It was bright orange and it stuck out past his shoulders. It was kind of frizzy, and it looked like you could sweep the floor with it. Anyway, he looked like he'd been through an ordeal--tired and worn out.   
  
He turned around and saw me, and he kinda jumped, like he hadn't expected to see anyone. I didn't really know what to do, so I yelled, "Hey! Ya need help?" He motioned that he couldn't hear me and to stay there. He left the cockpit. A minute later a big round door opened in the top of the ship--a manhole type thing. I said again, "Hey, ya need help?"   
  
"Yes," he returned. "What was your first clue? My ship crashed in the water and I need help to get it out."   
  
That was obvious enough, and I hesitated, trying to think of something to say. "Uh, well, need a lift?"   
  
"Yeah," was his somewhat sarcastic answer. "That might be a good idea."   
  
We both paused. I broke the silence. "Well, uh, I have some ropes and stuff. I could attach `em to this ship or whatever it is and haul you out."   
  
He looked up at the island for what I thought was the first time, but he didn't seem surprised to see it. "Sounds good," he said. "And the ship is called the Death Egg."   
  
Death Egg? What kind of a name is THAT? Aloud I said, "Well, how do you want me to hook on the ropes?"   
  
"Oh, there's some bars and things you could ..." He looked down and noticed the ship was mostly underwater. "Oh bummer," he finished with a sigh. "Oh well, never mind that. I've got some chains and things--I think we'd better use chains; ropes won't hold this thing. You attach them to the island, I'll take care of the attachments down here. Oh, and I'm Ivo Robotnik."   
  
So this _is_ Robotnik, I thought. Aloud I said, "I'm Knuckles, guardian of the Floating Island."   
  
Robotnik turned and vanished into the ship. A moment later, he came back dragging some of the biggest chains I'd ever seen. I mean, each link was more than an inch thick. They were big. He pulled them out one by one and tossed them to me. The first nearly threw me from the rope with it's weight. Fortunately I'm pretty strong, and was able to climb up the rope with the first one. Then, to get the others, I had Dr. Robotnik tie the rope through each chain and I hauled them up that way. Once I got `em up--there were five--I took each one and hooked `em to different places in the bottom of the island. Needless to say this took a while, but eventually I had each one where I wanted them; dangling from the bottom center of the island, where a heavy amount of stress wouldn't damage it. Then I flew the island directly over the Death Egg and sank down so the chains were all but touching it.   
  
I didn't know it then, but he used robots to attach the chains. And if you know anything about robots, like I do, you know that robots can't get wet. And I didn't know that the robots were actually robotized animals who drowned while trying to attach the chains. Golly, did I feel bed when I found out! And I didn't find out until weeks later, when I learned all about Robotnik.   
  
But anyway, all the chains were attached eventually, both to the island and the Death Egg. The good doctor decided that he would come up on the island during transit. There wouldn't be much for him to do down there; something had happened to the rockets while they were underwater. They got water-logged and couldn't fire. So I helped him up on the island. He wasn't much good at climbing the rope ladder I tossed down, which came as sort of a surprise to me. (Everyone should know how to climb. It should be a law.) When we finally got there, he asked me, "So, what now? How do you fly the island?"   
  
"Well, easy," I replied, and took out the emerald. I showed it to him and said, "See, this is the Master emerald."   
  
He looked at it and raised one bushy eyebrow. "Master emerald? I've only heard of the chaos emeralds."   
  
"Oh no," I said. "The Master is much bigger and contains more power. This is just a miniature I like to carry around, and I use it to fly the island."   
  
"Oh." He nodded. "How does it work?"   
  
"Well, to fly the island, I do this." I knelt and set the emerald on the ground. "I let it's power flow into the island," I explained, "sort of like magnetizing it. After a few minutes the island is all ready." I picked it up and held it in my right hand. "Now, to move it in any dir- ection I just hold out my arm and the island moves that way. To move down I cup my hand over the emerald. To move up, I just put my other hand under- neath. Watch." I slowly cupped my left hand beneath my right hand, and the island began to move up. Robotnik was impressed. I don't know why. I had never seen anybody get as excited over such a simple thing as he did.   
  
As I pulled the island up, the chains tightened and I began to feel resistance. The Death Egg must be really, really heavy to create that much drag. It felt like I was the one lifting the island, because the Master seemed almost to drag my arm down. But I stood firm. Floating Island had to move up really slowly to lift the ship. Meanwhile, Robotnik had walked to the edge and looked down at the ship. He was practically dancing with glee, he was so glad his ship was coming out of the water.   
  
Eventually I got the island high enough so the Death Egg was out of the water. Still holding the emerald, I looked at Robotnik and asked, "Where do want this thing, Doc?"   
  
"Well," he said, "it needs to be repaired and refueled, so I need to get it to my ground base where I can take care of it. It's called Launch Base and it's a long ways inland. Do you think you could reach it?"   
  
"Sure," I replied. "All I have to do is fly a little higher. Oh, and will you stay on the edge and watch my height? Clearance is gonna be a bit tricky because of the ship-thing."   
  
I still wasn't comfortable calling it the Death Egg yet.   
  
"Sure," he replied. "Why not?"   
  
So I lifted the island higher and we started moving inland. Robotnik stood on the edge and shouted out directions like, "Go a little higher! A little lower! Need to go about a half a mile to the right!" You know. It was interesting, `cause I was steering entirely on oral directions. I would have preferred to stand on the rocky pinnacle in the middle of the island, `cause I have a clear view of the entire island and can guess pretty near to how high I am. But I had to stand right on the edge with Robotnik. I don't know why I didn't just leave him; I guess I was uneasy. I didn't want to leave him unsupervised on my island. And besides, he couldn't call directions that far.   
  
We flew for quite a while, and Robotnik seemed interested in every- thing--the emeralds, how the island flew, etc. He seemed intrigued with the Master emerald. I don't normally tell people how it works, but he was so excited and seemed so friendly I thought, aw, what the heck.   
  
I told him all about the Master emerald, and how it worked, and how it flew the island, and even about the chaos emeralds. I told him more about the chaos emeralds than he had ever known; all he was familiar with was the basics. I'm kinda dumb that way--if people are interested in what I'm telling them, I tend to say more than I mean to. I didn't know that he was beginning to want the emeralds for himself, or I wouldn't have told him as much. It was kind of boring flying for such a long way, and so I told him this and that--how the Master emerald powers the chaos to an extent (the chaos generate their own power) and so, in a way, all the emeralds are linked.   
  
After a while, he decided to give me some info in exchange for what I had told him. He lowered his voice and asked me, "Do you know who Sonic the Hedgehog is?"   
  
"Sonic?" I replied. "Sure. `Most everybody knows who Sonic is. I've even talked to him once. Nice kid."   
  
A shadow passed over Robotnik's face, as if he was disappointed I knew who Sonic was. "Well," he continued, "I figured I had better tell you this. Sonic's not on your side."   
  
"What?" I said, surprised.   
  
Robotnik went on. "Sonic's not on your side anymore. He's after all the emeralds. He wants them for himself. He'd take them from the island, you know, even if it sank."   
  
Stunned, I shook my head. "Are you sure? I thought he was all for Floating Island."   
  
"Yes, I'm sure," Robotnik answered assuredly. "He wants all the emeralds because he found out what they can do. He already has all the chaos emeralds." He paused. "He was the one who wrecked Death Egg."   
  
I'm the guardian of the Floating Island, not to mention the Master emerald. This news made me mad. Why would anybody want all the emeralds? I mean, you can use just one and do incredible things with it. But all of them?   
  
By the time we reached Launch Base, I had come to a decision. I didn't want anybody, least of all Sonic and his friend, near my island. I figured I would take it out into the middle of the ocean and just stay, `cause I didn't want nobody but nobody on my island. Except Robotnik. He had free access because I was beginning to like him. (I didn't find he was a dirty turncoat until later.)   
  
Launch Base was _big_. It filled almost an entire valley. The center of the base was a single launching pad, but it had been forced into the ground so far water had welled up and almost drowned it. What bothered me about it was that the water wasn't clear--it was a purple-black kind of color. "Why is the water black?" I asked Robotnik. He shrugged. "Oh ... just ... because it is."   
  
"Duh," I said, annoyed. "I mean, is the water naturally dark here, or did something get spilled into it that turned it black?"   
  
I guess Robotnik thought I had guessed closed enough to deserve an answer. He said, "Well, you could say I accidently spilled a few chemicals in there."   
  
I looked down at it. "It looks like more than a _few_, I mean, that water is _black_ and that's a lotta water."   
  
"Yeah." Apparently he didn't care.   
  
Then he started giving me directions about where to lower the island so Death Egg would end up on the launch pad. I did it with very little trouble. We got the ship unhooked and stabilized, then Robotnik said, "Thanks. Be seeing you again." And he climbed down the rope ladder and was gone. And boy, did he leave me with a mindful.   
  
I flew the island way up, then straight back out to the ocean. I didn't come down near the beach, like I usually do. I just kept flying straight on out. I didn't stop, either, until I was around fifteen miles from shore. Then I lowered the island all the way down into the water; something I don't usually do, but I had a reason for it.   
  
I had gotten a call earlier from Hydrocity. They had some excess water they needed to pump out. Hydrocity is this gigantic desalination plant built under the ocean floor, so they have good access to plenty of sea water. They take hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and desalinate it (make it un-salty), then pump it to the mainland to water parts of Mobius. Sometimes they purify so much water they don't have anywhere to put it. So they'd just pump it back into the ocean. Until I came along. I have an attachment built into one corner of the island, so I go all the way down into the water to connect to the pumping station. They pump the water up to me, and it goes into a small pipe system which carries it to the top of the waterfall. The waterfall dumps it into the river, and the river waters the island.   
  
It didn't take that long to connect, and as I did I was thinking about Sonic wanting all the emeralds. "Man," I thought, "He must be really evil to want `em all. I can't let him come near the island ever again."   
  
The story begins two days later ....   
Chapter 1   
Floating Island  
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The little red plane swooped down, close to the ocean. The sun glinted off it's brightly polished wings and sides as it wove this way and that. Then it zoomed back up into the air, showing not only the double wings, but the twin flame jets that gave it it's speed.   
  
The bi-plane did a barrel-roll and dove toward the ocean again. As it turned upright the pilot and passenger became visible. The passenger was crouched on the upper wing, hanging on. He was a stunning dark blue all over, and three rows of sharp spikes protruded from the back of his head and ran down his back. He turned his head and called to the pilot, "Hey Tails, watch this!"   
  
The pilot looked up. He was a young fox. His fur was a red-orange, and his muzzle and chest were white. He had big foxy ears that were pricked forward. He grinned up at his friend. "Go for it, Sonic!" he called.   
  
Sonic pulled his feet forward and thrust them through the metal handles that were screwed into the paneling. Then he stood up, leaning forward into the wind. "Showoff!" he heard Tails yell. "See if you can keep your balance, hotshot!" The plane lurched and angled upward. Sonic leaned forward even more, grinning broadly. Tails was showing off, too. The hedgehog relaxed his knees and held his arms out for balance. The wind in his face was taking his breath away.   
  
Tails steered the plane up, down, then almost straight up. Sonic moved with the plane, feeling the adrenaline rush into his limbs as he rode the wind. The little craft abruptly ceased its climb, then dipped its left wing as if to spiral downward. Then Tails swerved the plane in the other direction, catching Sonic off guard. The wind hit him broadside and knocked him loose.   
  
Knowing full well he was going to fall, Sonic bounded sideways, off the wing. For one exhilarating second the wind caught his body and lifted him in the plane's wake. But then he resumed falling.   
  
He had fallen off the plane before, doing over a hundred mph--it had hurt a lot. But this time it would be different. He was holding two of the chaos emeralds in his hands, and had been the whole trip--just in case. As he tumbled toward the water he struck the two stones together. The power rush they created flung both his arms out and behind him. He was blinded for an instant, but when the world faded back in his vision had been enhanced five times, and he was flying.   
  
Sonic glanced down at himself. His arms and belly were the same color--brown and tanned--but the rest of him--everything blue, in fact-- was now glowing a hot yellow. The chaos emeralds were all circling him. Four went out and around him horizontally, and the other three were circling vertically. He looked like a model of an atom. "This is so cool," he thought.   
  
He was skimming across the ocean's surface, arms out and behind for balance, leaning forward at a 160 degree angle. The toes of his red and white sneakers barely brushed the surface of the water, kicking up a big plume of mist behind him. Knowing he looked cool, he set his sights on the bi-plane. It had slowed down drastically. The scream of the jet engines had subsided to a throbbing purr, and as Super Sonic approached, the jets swiveled around to point downward in the hover position.   
  
Sonic flew in a circle around the now-motionless bi-plane, then jumped lightly onto the wing. "You won," he began, but Tails hissed, "Shh! Listen to the radio!" He turned it up, and Sonic crouched down to listen better.   
  
At first it was only static. Sonic looked at Tails. "Aw, it was pry just the wind."   
  
Tails shook his head furiously. "No! It was there a minute ago. . . ."   
  
Sonic reached down to adjust the radio knob, but Tails slapped his hand away. "No way, buster," he snapped. "You forget what you do to machinery when you're super?"   
  
Sonic grinned wryly, and let Tails mess with the radio. Suddenly a voice came through loud and clear, saying, "I read. Must have been some interference."   
  
Another voice replied, "I copy. As I was saying, my latest project is now operational."   
  
Sonic and Tails started and looked at each other. That second voice was strangely familiar ...   
  
"No kiddin'. Did it work the way it was supposed to?" the first voice inquired.   
  
"Acknowledge. It is highly reliable," the second voice returned. "You are very good with machinery and programming."   
  
"Yeah, well ... "   
  
"What would you say to coming out here to--" (the station drifted) "--and design another robot?"   
  
"That'd be great. And this time--Wait a minute. There's somethin' shiny out on the ocean!" Sonic and Tails locked eyes, then looked all around suspiciously.   
  
"Is it you-know-who?" the radio continued.   
  
"It could be. Check all listeners on this frequency. They could be tuned in."   
  
Tails hurriedly shut off the radio, drew a deep breath and looked up at Sonic. The hedgehog stood up, turned around and peered into the distance. With his enhanced vision from the emeralds, he could see much further than Tails could. "Yeah," he said. "You can see Floating Island from here."   
  
"Were they talking about us?" Tails queried fearfully.   
  
Sonic glanced at him. "Count on it. We're the only 'shiny object' out here. Let's get to the island, like, right now!" Sonic dove off the wing and began to skim the water again. He flew circles around the bi-plane as Tails backed out of 'hover' and into 'flight'. As the glossy plane began to move Sonic called, "Race ya!" Tails grinned and gave him a thumbs-up.   
  
The bi-plane rapidly picked up speed, and Sonic cruised along beside it. "Okay," Tails called to him. "I'm all set! You ready?"   
  
"Straight up!" Sonic called back.   
  
"Okay," Tails replied. "One, two, three--go!"   
  
Tails opened the throttle and the little plane leaped forward. Sonic put his head down and accelerated. He surged abreast of the bi-plane and began to pull forward. "See ya at the island!" he yelled, then took off.   
  
It was no contest and they both knew it. Sonic was far and away faster than the bi-plane, even with the flame-jets. He flew over the rippled water, his glowing yellow reflected in it's surface.   
  
Floating Island was about two miles away, now. Sonic wondered if that had been Knuckles on the radio. If so, who had he been talking to? It sounded oddly like Robotnik. But Robotnik had been killed when the Death Egg went down! Or had he? Could he have survived? And--he shuddered to think of it--was Knuckles in league with him? Did Knux have any idea how well Robotnik could lie and manipulate? Sonic's mind was spinning as the island drew closer. He had heard rumors of emeralds that contained more power than all the chaos put together, and Knuckles was their guardian. What if Robotnik got his hands on them? It would spell disaster--for Floating Island and Mobius both. "I've gotta warn Knux," Sonic thought as he neared the island.   
  
One moment he was over water--the next he was over land. There wasn't much beach there; it was only about fifteen feet wide. The jungle began abruptly in a wall of trees. Recklessly Super Sonic plunged into it. He knew that somewhere in the south quarter was a network of narrow paths. Knuckles had told him about them and said they were a great place to improve your steering skills. That was where Sonic was headed. He ducked and dodged between palm trunks and leaped over large rocks carpeted with thick pelts of moss.   
  
The smell of the island hit him, and he inhaled deeply. It smelled of water, warm foliage and a sweet scent of fruit and flowers. It was almost intoxicating. No wonder nobody ever went there; they never wanted to leave again! Everything was green, green, green--more shades of it than were possible to imagine.   
  
The fern-carpeted ground gave way to a sandy path. It looked used and well-kept, for not a weed marred its sandy surface. Super Sonic turned onto it and began to glide again. "Man, this is fun--miles and miles of island to explore! Tails has gotta land the plane, then--"   
  
Sonic's thoughts were cut short as something lunged out of the bushes and blocked the trail. With no warning, Sonic had no time to stop. He ploughed into it. It blocked his blow with one of its own, knocking Sonic to a stop. As he bounced off, it jumped forward and delivered a stunning blow to Sonic's face. It didn't hurt--invincibility took care of that. But it was surprising, and Sonic automatically recoiled, expecting it to hurt.   
  
The figure moved again, driving an over-sized fist into Sonic's chin. The blow knocked him down. He looked up and saw whoever-it-was standing over him. But instead of continuing the fight, he was grabbing the chaos emeralds as they circled Sonic's body. As each one left its orbit, Sonic felt that much weaker. His glow faded slowly back into blue, and his enhanced vision went back to normal. As it did, he recognized who it was. Red all over. Long, thick dreadlocks. White crescent on the chest, pointed snout. "Knuckles!" Sonic yelped, outraged.   
  
The echidna leaped away to a safe distance, cradling the chaos emeralds tenderly in his hands.   
  
Sonic scrambled to his feet. "Knux, whadja do that for? All you had to do is ask."   
  
Knuckles sneered at him. "Yeah, right. I know why you came here. And let me tell you-- NOBODY needs all the emeralds."   
  
Sonic noticed he didn't say CHAOS emeralds. He also noticed a loophole. "Neither do you," he pointed out.   
  
Knuckles frowned. "I didn't ask for a debate. this is MY island, and you and your foxy friend are not welcome. Get out."   
  
Sonic folded his arms. "Since when? I'm not gonna leave until you give me an explanation AND my emeralds."   
  
"You mean MY emeralds. You don't need them anymore than I need to explain anything to you. Now scram." Knuckles took a threatening step forward. "Remember Sonic, you're not invincible anymore."   
  
Sonic's eyes blazed, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Neither are you, my friend," he said softly. 

* * *

  
  
Sonic lunged at me, his face a mask of fury. I dodged backward, aware that I was holding the chaos emeralds with both hands. I could use them as well as he could, but if I let my guard down the instant it would take, he'd nail me good. I stuck out a foot to trip him, but he saw it and stepped over. He had one eye on the emeralds in my hands. I backed away, aware that there wasn't enough room on the trail for fighting. "Give 'em back, Knux," he growled.   
  
"Over my dead body," I snapped.   
  
Sonic snickered as he crouched a little and held up his fists. "That can be arranged," he hissed through clenched teeth.   
  
He sprang at me, his back arched like a cat's. Looking at him, I was sure Dr. Robotnik had told me the truth; Sonic would kill to get the emeralds back. I dodged his leap, then planted my toe behind his foot and knocked it out from under him. As he went down, one of his hands closed on my arm. His grip was like a vice--he was furious. I tried to jerk away, but only succeeded in pulling him to his feet. His other hand whipped around as if he would hit me. Instinctively I snapped my head back, but he didn't strike. Instead, his hand snaked down between mine toward the emeralds. "Hey!" I snarled. I pulled away and saw his hand was closed. He had one! His eyes lit up triumphantly, and he came at me again.   
  
Suddenly I was afraid--not for myself, but for the emeralds. I turned and headed off into the woods. I crashed through a large bush, stumbled over a big clump of ferns, ducked through several low-hanging fronds and ran flat out for about five minutes. Panting, I ducked behind a tree. With all the noise I had been making, I couldn't tell if I was being followed or not. But there was nobody behind me, and I didn't think Sonic was woods-wise enough to try circling around. The fox might be, but I hadn't seen him anywhere.   
  
With a sigh of relief I got my bearings and headed north-east. 

* * * 

  
  
Sonic stood on the trail, half triumphant, half crestfallen. He stood with his feet apart and his hands at his sides. His left hand was still clenched in a fist as he stared after Knuckles, feeling the rage ooze out of him. Solemnly he remembered he needed to warn Knux. Well, he had blown it big-time. Slowly he brought up his hand and opened it. There on his palm, glowing softly, was the green chaos emerald. He felt a little better. At least he still had _one_.   
  
The blue hedgehog (who was really feeling his color), turned and trudged back in the direction of the beach. Tails should have reached the island by now. His friend would never find him in the woods, so he was going back. A moment later he began to run. After being Super Sonic, he felt heavy and slow, like how you feel after getting out of the pool. But after a few strides he felt his spirits lifting, and was soon cruising at a good clip toward the sandy shore.   
  
He heard the bi-plane approaching. It was over the island before he had reached the beach, but he kept going. He needed a point of reference before heading deeper into the island. As soon as he spotted the water he stopped and listened to the sound of the plane's engines. Where was it? It seemed to be off to his right and behind him some- place. Sonic turned and headed in that direction.   
  
After a few minutes of walking through the trees, he came to a big open area, like a meadow. The red bi-plane was parked in the tall grass out in the center. Tails was just climbing out of the cockpit.   
  
"Hey, Tails," Sonic called in greeting.   
  
Tails turned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Hey yourself. Where you been?"   
  
"In a fight."   
  
"Oh. Making yourself at home, eh?"   
  
"Well," Sonic chuckled, "not really." He reached up and ran his hand over the smooth side of his plane, then looked at Tails. "Hate ta tell ya this, but something's up."   
  
Tails raised his hands in a hopeless gesture, then covered his eyes and moaned,"Oh no! Not something else!" He dropped his hands to his sides and looked at Sonic eagerly. "What?"   
  
Sonic held up the green emerald. "See this?"   
  
Tails glanced at it. "Yeah. What about it?"   
  
"It's the only one I've got."   
  
The fox stared at him in something like horror. "What? What the heck happened?"   
  
Sonic informed him about Knuckles and what had happened on the trail. They both stood silent for a moment after he finished. Then Tails said, "So, was it Knuckles on the radio?"   
  
Sonic nodded slowly. "I think so. But I want to know--who was he talking to?"   
  
They looked at each other a moment, replaying the conversation in their minds.   
  
"Do you think it was--" Tails hesitated even to say the name "--Robotnik?"   
  
Sonic shrugged. "I donno. It sounded like him."   
  
"But I thought Death Egg crashed!" Tails protested.   
  
"It did," Sonic replied quietly. "We saw it go down. But you know, that old loser has more lives than a cat. He could have escaped." He turned his head and looked at the jungle surrounding them. "All we have to do is look for his trademark."   
  
"You mean robots?"   
  
"Badniks, Tails. Robotized animals. If Robotnik is here, or WAS here, there'll be 'bots everywhere."   
  
The two of them were quiet for a moment or two. The stillness was broken by the shrill cries of tropical birds, and the deep rumble of the waterfall in the center of the island. A breeze wafted by, fanning Sonic and Tails's faces with the delicious smell of the island. Automatically they both inhaled deeply. "What's it smell like to you, Tails?" Sonic asked blissfully.   
  
"All the fruit in the world, roses, water. . . ." Tails trailed off.   
  
Sonic added, "Growing things, moss, dark dirt. . . ."   
  
They both looked at each other and sighed happily.   
  
Sonic pulled out his chaos emerald and tossed it from hand to hand. "It's lonely," he told his friend. "I need to get the other ones back." He turned and looked across the meadow. "Knux took 'em and ran off that way," he muttered, half to himself. "Maybe we could track him down."   
  
"Get real, Sonic," Tails said disgustedly. "This is a big island. Knuckles knows it like the back of his hand. He could be anywhere by now!"   
  
"Yeah, yeah," Sonic replied good-naturedly. "It's not like we'd get REAL lost, and if we did, well. . ." He fingered the silver whistle that hung on a chain around his neck. Tails had one just like it.   
  
"Well," said Tails, relenting. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Besides, we'll have one heck of a lot of exploring to do." He smiled, and his double tails switched. He liked to explore, and Sonic knew it.   
  
"Do you think the bi-plane will be okay if we leave it here?" Sonic asked Tails, the concern for his toy etched in his voice.   
  
The young fox looked up at it, then around at the meadow. "Sure. It's not gonna go anywhere, and all we have to do is remember that we left it on the south side of the island."   
  
Sonic rumpled his furry head with one hand. "You're a lifesaver, kiddo. C'mon, let's juice."   
  
Sonic twirled and leaped away, becoming a blur almost at once. Tails bounded after him, his white-tipped tails whirling behind him.   


* * *

  
  
The island rose in the center in a high, granite, crag-like mountain, two thousand feet above the ground. The waterfall came from a hole in it's side, spurting out in a white, sparkling jet that plunged sown the stone face and into the riverbed far below. It kicked up a cloud of mist, turning the surrounding area into a rainforest. The spray condensed on everything--leaves, rocks, vines, people, etc. The entire forest dripped, and tiny streams of water flowed down the broad, flat palm leaves.   
  
Their feet squelched in the muddy moss as they made their way through. Sonic had been forced to slow his pace down to a walk, as the ground was treacherous. His companion walked behind him, tails held high to keep the mud off. This didn't keep them from getting wet, however. The water dripping from the canopy overhead did a good job of soaking everything.   
  
The roar of the waterfall had become a rolling, continuous sound, so loud they had to shout to make themselves heard. And through the noisy crashing of the river came the high-pitched voices of millions of treefrogs, peeping and piping their praise of the water. It was a joyous wracket that assaulted the eardrums and deadened one's hearing. Sonic and Tails trudged through it, their feet and legs spattered with mud and water, their lungs filled with the fragrant atmosphere, their ears flooded with tropical sound effects.   


* * *

  
  
"You have them?" Dr. Robotnik asked me. We were standing in the woods where Doc had landed at my signal. We weren't that far from the waterfall, but on the opposite side of it from Sonic and Tails.   
  
"Sure," I replied. Then I hesitated and added, "Well, almost all of them. Sonic fought me and got one."   
  
Robotnik's face turned an interesting shade of purple and his mustache quivered. His voice was shaking with barely restrained rage as he said, "You--only have--six?"   
  
I nodded and took a step back. His hands were clenching and unclenching at his sides, and I was afraid he would try to strangle me or something.   
  
The doctor drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. His face turned back to it's normal color, but his voice was still trembly when he said, "We need to get it back. Do you--think--you can?"   
  
"Sure," I replied confidently.   
  
I turned to go, but Ivo stopped me. "Wait, Knuckles. Give me the chaos emeralds. I'll keep them for you." He had an eager, almost hungry look in his eyes.   
  
I looked at him curiously. Something quailed way down in my heart-- something cried, "Don't do it!" But my logical head returned with, "Doc is my friend. Why shouldn't I?" Ever so slowly, I extended my cupped hands toward his. He held out his hands; again I felt that apprehension down in my guts. Again I fought it, and dropped the glowing emeralds into his hands.   
  
And just like that we were hurled apart. I was flung backward until I collided with a tree. I slumped to the ground, my head whirling and stars going 'round. My vision cleared after a few seconds, and I saw Dr. Robotnik thirty feet away. He had been knocked down, but was propped up on one elbow, looking at something up in the air. My eyes followed his gaze, although I knew what had happened.   
  
The six chaos emeralds were hovering about ten feet up, moving in a tight circle. With every revolution their glow increased until they were almost too bright to look at. Then they spiraled up into the sky, their circle growing ever wider. They broke clear of the tree canopy, but I could see them through the leaves, shining like colored stars. They stopped moving for an instant, then split in six directions in a flash of light.   
  
Like a flicker of lightning in a thundercloud, the emeralds vanished. I lay where I had fallen for a moment, my head still buzzing. Then I got up carefully, checking myself over for injuries. The back of my head was pounding, but other than that I seemed okay. I made my way over to Robotnik and helped him to his feet. He looked bewildered, still staring up at where the emeralds had went. Then he looked down at his hands. They had been burned by the furious heat of the gems. He didn't seem to care, though. "So much for that," he muttered, looking up at the sky again.   


* * *

  
  
"What was that?" Sonic called to Tails above the waterfall.   
  
"What was what?" Tails shouted back, wiping the water out of his eyes.   
  
"That flash like heat lightning! Didn't you see it?" Sonic returned.   
  
Tails shrugged. "I thought I saw something, but I figured it was just my eyes."   
  
On sudden impulse, Sonic pulled out his green chaos emerald and held it in his hands. He and Tails stared at it as its vivid glow faded out completely, leaving it cold and dead in his hands. The only thing that distinguished it from any other rock now was its size.   
  
Sonic and Tails's eyes met. "Something must have happened to the others," Sonic said grimly, his voice barely audible over the roar of the waterfall. "We'd better find Knux, and fast."   


* * *

  
  
Doc let me bandage his hands with aloe vera, which is the juice inside a cactus-like plant. It's really great for burns. He kept insisting that I didn't need to bother, but his hands needed tending. Privately, I think he was afraid that because it was a plant it would hurt. Of course it didn't, and we talked a little as I worked. He asked me why the emeralds had flown away, and I told him PART of the reason. The red chaos emerald is so powerful it's almost radioactive, and it requires the green emerald to keep it under control when all the gems are together. So when I handed the emeralds to Robotnik, the red caused the others to lose balance and they scattered like repelling magnets.   
  
The part I didn't tell him was that the emeralds wouldn't do that unless they fell into the wrong hands. If the green had been present the safeguard wouldn't have come into play. I should have put two and two together and realized Robotnik shouldn't be allowed to get his mitts on them, but like a fool I didn't. Instead, I was angry at Sonic for taking the green.   
  
Doc interrupted my thoughts with a question. "So where will the emeralds end up?"   
  
I shrugged. "Well, they fly for a while, then shoot down into the ground--one, two, maybe three hundred feet."   
  
"Is there any way to retrieve them?" was his next question.   
  
I nodded slowly. "Ye-es, but it wouldn't be easy. You see, we have no way of telling where they landed. If you have one emerald, it glows brighter when it gets close to another, and fades as it gets further away. But the only person with an emerald right now is Sonic."   


* * *

  
  
They had finally reached the edge of the rain forest and were standing on the riverbank. The waterfall came spewing out of the side of the granite mountain and poured into the river like a curtain of white silk. It kicked the river into a raging, boiling torrent that foamed and roared down the channel. Needless to say, it did not appear safe for swimming.   
  
Sonic and Tails washed their muddy legs and arms off in the water, took drinks, then stood, dripping and refreshed, looking for a way to cross the raging river. There were no rocks they could use as stepping stones, and the only ones they could see were half submerged and covered with green moss. "I could speed across," Sonic said doubtfully, eyeing the rapids.   
  
"Better not try it," Tails hastily assured him. "Rough water makes you skip and hydroplane."   
  
The two stood there, puzzled, studying the situation. The fog the falls created put a haze over the sun, but as they stood there a breeze blew through, stirring the mist. As the light changed, Tails touched Sonic's arm and said, "Look."   
  
A few yards upstream from them was a very large, old tree. It leaned out over the river at an angle. Its trunk twisted this way and that, and its gnarled limbs stretched craggy hands skyward, lifting its dark leaves to the sky. Its lower half was covered with thick green vines, binding it to the earth.   
  
Sonic's eyes traveled over the tree until he spotted the rope tied in its upper branches. The rope was strung across the river, slanting down to the far side.   
  
After a moment he turned to Tails. "So what do we do, be tightrope walkers?"   
  
"No," said the young fox, who's natural vision was sharper than Sonic's. "C'mon, I'll show ya."   
  
Tails raced away and Sonic followed. The fox jumped up on the base of the tree and grinned down at Sonic. "C'mon, let's do some tree-climbing!"   
  
Sonic started to protest, but Tails went up the tree like a two- tailed squirrel. Sonic hesitated a split second, then went after him.   
  
Because the tree was leaning over, it was more like walking up a ramp than climbing. The top side of the old tree's trunk was worn smooth, as if many other feet had passed that way before. All the branches that might have gotten in the way were trimmed back. But, Sonic noticed, there was always a limb nearby when he needed something to hold on to.   
  
Before long, Sonic had caught up to his companion. "See?" Tails exclaimed triumphantly, indicating the reason he had climbed all that way. The rope was knotted around some branches a few feet above their heads. From close up, the rope looked soft and frayed, as if it would snap any second. But what caught Sonic's interest was the shorter length of rope dangling from it. It was doubled loosely around the other rope, and both ends were tied to a length of bamboo. It was swaying back and forth gently, barely more than an arm's length away.   
  
"Cool," Sonic exclaimed. "Hey Tails, I'll slide down here, and you can fly."   
  
"No way!" Tails yelped in outrage. "I want to try it as much as you do!"   
  
Sonic paused, then reached and pulled the bamboo handle over. He set his weight against it and pulled. The rope bounced a little, but other than that nothing happened. "Seems strong enough," he muttered. He turned to his friend and said, "Why don't we swing down together? I could grab on this side, and you could take the other side. That way we could both go down. Whaddya think?"   
  
"Sounds cool to me," Tails said eagerly. "Let's do it!"   
  
Sonic grabbed one end of the handle, and Tails grabbed the other end. Then, at Sonic's shouted, "Go!", they took a running step forward and leaped off the tree. The smaller rope began to slide along the larger one, swinging its passengers down over the river.   
  
Sonic looked down at the white water below his dangling red sneakers as they reached the center of the river. "I wonder how deep it is?" he thought. "I hope the rope holds."   
  
Suddenly the smaller rope caught against a knot or something in the big one and stopped. Sonic and Tails swung forward with a lurch, then swung back and forth, both ropes bouncing.   
  
After a few seconds of surprised silence, Tails said flatly, "Great. What do we do now?"   
  
"I donno," Sonic replied. "Can you see what we're caught on?"   
  
Tails threw his head back and looked up. "There's a bunch of frayed stuff caught in the loop," he reported.   
  
"Well," Sonic said optimistically, "let's try to bounce the rope over it."   
  
They both began to jounce their weight up and down, eyes fixed upward. All that happened was that the rope slipped down a few more feet and stopped again.   
  
The two of them dangled there a few minutes longer. Tails looked down at the boiling rapids below. "Should we jump?" he asked resignedly.   
  
Sonic looked down as well. "Naw. That'd be suicide."   
  
"But what are we supposed to do? Hang here until our arms fall off?"   
  
"'Course not," Sonic replied. "Hey, why don't you spin your tails and hover? Maybe you could get the rope free."   
  
Tails let go with one hand, twisted around and helped his tails twist together. But, hanging as he was, he couldn't get enough leverage to spin them fast enough to fly. After a moment he gave up. "It's no use, Sonic."   
  
Sonic drew his knees up to his chest and kicked out. The rope bounced, and the swing moved about an inch. "Hey, maybe this'll work," he said. He did it again and again, the swing moving a little each time. Sonic paused a moment, his body tiring. "I'm gonna try it one last time," he informed Tails. He pulled his knees to his chest, then kicked his very hardest.   
  
The bamboo handle gave a loud crack and split down the middle. It crumpled in Sonic's hands, and he dropped straight down into the river. It was such a shock that by the time he realized what had happened, he was five feet under water.   
  
Instinctively Tails had let go of the handle as it splintered and grabbed the rope. Now he was hanging there, staring at the place Sonic had disappeared.   
  
Fortunately for Sonic, the water was deep where he had entered. Because of this, it was a good thirty seconds before he hit the first rock. It knocked the breath from his lungs in a cloud of bubbles. He came to the surface gasping like a fish out of water. He only had time for a single breath before the river dragged him under again.   


* * *

  
  
He came to, aware that he was still in the water, but lodged securely between two mossy rocks. He didn't remember when he had passed out, but guessed it was somewhere between the third and fifth rocks he had hit. He ached all over, and knew he wouldn't need a drink of water for at least a week. His head and shoulders were above water, and his legs and body were wedged sideways in the rocks. Not very well, though; he could feel himself slipping little by little as the current washed against him.   
  
Sonic lifted his head and looked around. He had been carried about thirty feet, and could still see Tails, who was dangling from the rope ten feet above the river. His companion was staring anxiously downstream, unable to see his friend. Sonic held up one arm and waved it back and forth. After a moment Tails spotted him and waved back.   
  
But there they were stuck. Tails could not get down, and Sonic could not get up. One of them had to get free to help the other. It looked hopeless for about five minutes, as the current slowly forced Sonic further and further between the boulders.   
  
Suddenly the pitch of the waterfall changed. Its thunderous roar subsided a little, and a little more. Sonic and Tails both turned their heads and looked up at the white plume.   
  
The waterfall was narrowing, shutting off. It looked like someone was turning off a gigantic faucet. The noise became less as the amount of water making it lessened; soon the waterfall had completely vanished. All that remained was a great, dark, wet path down the face of the stone cliff.   
  
The river was slowing down. With its source cut off, there was nothing to keep it going. Its roar was quieting. Sonic looked down. The furious water that had torn at him and swirled against his chest was calming and sinking lower and lower. Soon it was lapping gently around his ankles. Dark, bare rocks jutted up out of the riverbed, scoured clean by the water.   
  
Sonic worked his way out of the rocks, the moss on them helping quite a bit. Soon he was free. Gingerly he picked his way over the stony riverbottom, back toward Tails. Without the noise of the river and waterfall combined, it seemed strangely silent.   
  
"Hey Tails," he called.   
  
"Hey Sonic," Tails replied from above. "Are you okay?"   
  
"Sure, I'm cool," Sonic replied, even as he winced at the ache of a bruise on his leg. "Can you get down now?"   
  
Tails shook his head. "Get a load of what you're standing on, Sonic. You think I'm gonna drop fifteen or twenty feet onto rocks, none of which are smaller than a breadbox?"   
  
"Sure," Sonic said with a grin. "I did, and it didn't hurt me-- much."   
  
The two were interrupted by the ominous click of a pistol being cocked. Sonic spun around in time to see Knuckles, about fifteen feet away, aim a laser pistol in Tails's general direction and fire. Sonic looked back, saw Tails drop to the ground and lay still. Without waiting another second, Sonic gave a half-choked cry and charged at Knuckles.   
  
Knux clearly had not been expecting this. He jumped a little, then dove for the cover of the woods. He was not quite quick enough. Sonic tackled him from behind, driving him to the ground. The echidna struggled, but he was no match for Sonic's panic-fury strength. The two wrestled for a long three seconds, and ended up with Sonic sitting on Knux's chest, pinning down his arms and snarling into his face. "Why'd ya do it, huh? Tell me why!!"   
  
"Why what?" Knuckles yelped. He was angry, but Sonic was ferocious.   
  
"Why did you shoot Tails?!?"   
  
A dawning realization crept over Knuckles's face. He almost laughed as he yelled, "I didn't shoot the fox, you idiot! I shot the rope to get him down!"   
  
"It's true," said a voice behind Sonic.   
  
The hedgehog felt himself go limp with relief as he recognized Tails's voice. He got off Knux and turned to his friend. "Tails! I thought he'd shot you!"   
  
"Yeah, so I heard," Tails replied drily. He leaned forward and said softly in Sonic's ear, "You're blowing it with Knux again. We need to talk to him, remember?"   
  
"Oh yeah," Sonic said, his face coloring slightly.   
  
He turned to Knuckles, who was sitting up, watching them warily. Sonic held out a hand to him. "Uh, sorry, Knuckles."   
  
The echidna scorned his hand and climbed to his feet without taking it. "I'll think about accepting your apology," he said insolently.   
  
Sonic gritted his teeth inwardly, but outwardly remained calm. "Knux, we need to talk to you."   
  
"Yeah? About what?" Knuckles folded his arms and shifted his weight to one foot.   
  
"About the chaos emeralds."   
  
"Really," said Knuckles. "Are you going to hand over the green one?"   
  
Sonic shook his head. "Uh-uh. It's mine; I rightfully earned it. And so are the others. What happened to them?"   
  
Knuckles looked a trifle uneasy and did not answer.   
  
Sonic noticed this and went on. "The green one is dead, Knux. I want to know what happened to the others."   
  
It was quiet for a lengthy twenty seconds, and they could all hear the birds chirping in the trees.   
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Knuckles said lamely, and sounded as if he meant exactly the opposite.   
  
Sonic moved forward a step. "Yeah you do," he replied cooly. "It's really important, especially if the island is to survive. C'mon, Knux, you can tell us. We're your friends."   
  
The red echidna looked uncertain. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He moved back a step, his eyes darting from Sonic's face, to Tails's and back again. He turned and looked toward the southern horizon. After a moment he turned back. "Listen," he said earnestly, "I turned off the waterfall to free you. I broke my own swing to get your friend loose. Isn't that enough? I gotta go."   
  
He turned as if to make a break for the woods, but Sonic caught his arm and stopped him. "What about the emeralds?" he asked quietly.   
  
Knuckles looked into his eyes and felt something relent a little, way down inside. "They're all lost," he returned, his tone matching Sonic's. Then he pulled free of the hedgehog's grasp and fled into the woods.   
  
Sonic stood still and watched him go. "What was the last thing he said?" Tails queried. "I couldn't hear him."   
  
Still staring after Knuckles, Sonic replied quietly, "He said the emeralds are all lost."   
  
"What's that mean?"   
  
Sonic turned to face him. "I donno, but I'll tell you one thing-- this spells disaster, with a capital D."   
  
"Yeah," Tails replied quickly. His ears twisted to the south (the same direction Knuckles had looked), dragging his eyes around a moment later. "And guess what? Comin' right at us is the capital D."   
  
"What?" Sonic exclaimed, whirling around. He instantly spotted the dark specks low on the horizon. They were a sort of aircraft, and were approaching the island rapidly. Tails looked at Sonic with a smirk. "Three guesses at to who built 'em."   
  
Sonic shook his head. "No--it's not possible he survived. We saw his ship go down!"   
  
"Still," Tails said calmly, "those look like badniks to me. And besides, could the guardian of the Floating Island--and of the power- emeralds, I might add--accidently lose six chaos emeralds?"   
  
Sonic stood still, hands on his hips, eyes on the approaching specks. "You have a point there, little bro. And by the way, I don't think this is a good place for battling badniks. Let's speed and find someplace secure."   
  
Tails spun his double tails in preparation for takeoff, and Sonic crouched down. "Ready, Tails?"   
  
"Ready, captain," Tails grinned back, giving him a thumbs-up. "'Kay," said Sonic. "We are up, over and gooonne!"   
  
Seconds later, the only evidence they had ever been there was the muddy tracks of their feet on the rocks. * * *   
  
I hadn't made it very far before the robots hit. Dr. Robotnik had told me that burning the south quarter would remove all the dead underbrush and clear it for new growth. He had warned me that his fire squad would be flying in at about ten o' clock, and to be anywhere but the south quarter. But here I was, and all because of Sonic. If Sonic hadn't been carrying the green chaos emerald, I wouldn't have cared two cents that he was stuck in the river. But he had been and was carrying it, and ME, with some fool notion about saving him, had turned off the waterfall for him. "But because of his stupid questions," I thought, "I'm still here and the robots are coming."   
  
I reached an open place in the woods and stopped for a breather. I glanced up at the sun. It was pretty close to ten; the fire squad would be here any minute. I couldn't see them because of the trees, but I knew they had to be nearly here by now. I wondered briefly if I should have said something to Sonic and his friend, but brushed away the thought. "They'll be okay," I thought. From what I had heard of Sonic, he could take care of himself.   
  
I began to move again, heading for the high place in the center of the island. I could see it, towering above me through the green canopy, but I was at least a forth of a mile from it. Once I hit one of the trails, I could follow it straight on up to the foot of the mountain in about fifteen minutes.   
  
I was five minutes away from the trail when the robots arrived.   
  
I could hear the many craft humming like a gigantic beehive. They were split into groups and scattered all over the place. I don't know exactly when the carnage began, but it spread like wildfire (literally) once it started.   
  
Those robots were carrying bombs. Not just for lighting fires; for destruction by fire. The bombs were about the size of a coconut, oblong like a torpedo and with detonator charges in the nose of each. They exploded on impact, spraying the area with a burning chemical. (I know, because I saw first-hand how they worked.)   
  
The humming grew louder. I looked up. Four of the robots, flying about ten feet above tree level and in formation, would pass right over me. They were steel blue, round ships, something like the Death Egg. They didn't look like my idea of a robot; more like an automatic warcraft.   
  
They didn't start firing until they were ten feet beyond me. Systematically, one after the other, they fired four bombs apiece into the air. These went up as a group, scattered, and came down one by one all over the place. They hit and exploded with a crack, igniting fires almost instantly. I stood aghast. You don't burn a forest with chemicals if you expect it to recuperate. What was Doc trying to do?   
  
I only had a few moments to gape at the destruction. Then I was suddenly aware of my immanent danger. The woods were burning down around me; I had better find water or a bare, rocky area if I was to escape being burned to death.   
  
I started to run in the direction of the trail. Getting out of the forest was foremost on my mind; everything else I pushed out to brood over later. Smoke was beginning to fill the air; I could already smell it. It reeked something awful because of the burning green leaves and chemicals. Through the forest to my left was an odd golden glow. I glanced at it and felt the wind in my face. The wind. The wind from the mainland, boosted to hurricane force because of the fire, was pushing the flames inland. Not only was I in danger, my entire island was, too.   
  
The trail. I broke through the trees and turned on to it. With the clear space before me, I broke into a real run. The smoke around me was beginning to darken the air; it had turned the sunlight the color of blood. The golden light behind me was beginning to get brighter. I tried to run faster.   
  
Suddenly, up ahead, a tall tree burst into flames. No warning, just started burning from base to crown. The fire spread from it to some brush beside the trail. I felt its heat at I tore past. If the fire is already here, I thought, then what chance do I have of making it? "None," my mind replied. "None at all." I kept running anyway.   
  
The smoke was thick, now. It looked like a heavy fog had rolled in, blocking the sunlight. But fog didn't burn my throat and lungs, like this did. I tried not to cough, but I did once, and then there was no stopping. I coughed so hard I slowed to nearly a walk. I knew I would have to stop soon; I was winded, had a stitch in my side, and I needed to figure out where the fire was. If it was as close as I thought it was, then I had better stop running and find someplace to hide.   
  
I topped a small rise and stopped. I bent down and rested my hands on my knees. My breath came in painful, ragged gasps, and my chest ached terribly. "Gotta--keep going," I wheezed aloud. "Gotta get--away--from here--" Unfortunately, my feet didn't believe it when my head said I had energy left. My heart was pounding in my head, my mouth, my chest, my legs; everywhere, and the smoke was smothering me.   
  
After a moment I forced myself to stand all the way up and look around. What I saw frightened me. Red-gold flames were licking above the treetops. It was sweeping through the trees faster than a horse could run, springing from treetop to treetop, followed closely by the slower brushfire on the ground. Forgetting I didn't have any breath left, I turned and fled.   
  
It was then I envied Sonic the most for his speed. It felt like the world was in slow motion; everything but the fire. It was coming after me easily. I felt like the slowest way in the world to get anywhere was by running. I had never noticed how long the path was. I could see the foot of the mountain up ahead, but it seemed miles away. The fire would beat me there.   
  
I stumbled and fell. I tried to get up again, but my arms and legs were heavy, like they had weights tied to them. It felt good just to lie still, close to the ground where the air was a little clearer. My mouth and nose felt like they were padded with cotton; it was difficult to get a decent breath. I lay there for what seemed like a long time, but I think it was really only a few minutes. What woke me up was the roar of the fire as it approached. I turned and looked at it through bleary eyes. The dancing flames were coming, and I hadn't the strength to get away.   
  
From the other direction, back toward the peak, came a short cough. Then somebody called, "Knuckles! Knuckles! Where are you?" I didn't recognize the voice, but I knew it had to be help. My voice sounded like a croak as I yelled, "I'm over here!"   
  
I sensed somebody standing over me. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and was pulled to a sitting position. He was backdropped with the fire, and I couldn't see his face. He pressed something against my nose and mouth. At first I thought it was a rag or something, but then I took a breath. To my surprise my lungs filled with air easily; it was an oxygen mask. I held it against my face and gulped down the fresh air hungrily as the person--I guess it was a person--wrapped his arms around me and picked me up. I got the impression he was a lot bigger than I was, as he cradled me in his arms as you would a small child.   
  
Then he began to run, or well, it was more like flying. I remember looking down dizzily as the ground swept by--then I saw the fire below us. I realized the fire in the trees had circled around and cut me off. I don't know how we got over it. Then the person was lying me down on rocky ground. I could feel the sharp corners digging into my ribs. The person--I still couldn't make out who it was--rubbed my chest a little and said, "Just rest a little and keep the mask on. You'll be okay." Then he was gone. Right before I blacked out, I remember lying there, watching clouds of smoke billow across the sky, and clutching the plastic mask to my face.   
  
* * *   
  
"C'mon, Tails, up there!" Sonic scrambled up the rocky hill on all fours. Tails shook himself to get the water out of his fur, then headed after his friend.   
  
The two had one heck of a time with the fire and robots. For one thing, the robots had intentionally set fire to the trees in a ring around them. To escape, Sonic had raced around and around the circle to create a strong wind. The fire was drawn in one direction, leaving gaps in its wall. The two raced out, only to find that they were almost in the heart on the inferno. There was almost no smoke, but the air was blisteringly hot and impossible to breathe.   
  
Thinking quickly, Tails revved up and leaped into the air, crying, "C'mon, Sonic! I'll get us outta here!" Sonic locked wrists with him, and Tails flew up into the air, his double tails a whirling blur. The rising hot air created a strong wind a few feet above the ground. It boosted Tails up into the air, high above the treetops. There they encountered the thick, choking smoke. Tails flew and flew through it, unable to see and almost incapable of breathing. It was the same with Sonic, although he was able to keep one eye on the ground. The glowing flames were below them for most of their flight. About the time Tails was beginning to falter, Sonic spotted a large blank space in the fire; it had to be a pond or something. "Water--down there, Tails!" Sonic coughed. Tails stopped whirling his tails, and they parachuted down. After a moment Sonic let go and dropped with a splash into the water. Tails joined him a second later. Neither of them could touch bottom, so they trod water for a few minutes as they kept an eye on which way the fire was headed. It was sweeping inland, driven by a fierce wind. A short distance off the fire had stopped and could go no further. It was the rocky foot of the peak in the middle of the island.   
  
The two swam to shore and clambered up the slope, streaming water. They paused after twenty feet for a look around. The fire had spread out to the east and west, trying to get around the fuelless area. Sonic sat on a rock and watched it glumly. "Too bad," he sighed. "It was so pretty, too."   
  
"Yeah, I know," Tails added, sitting down beside him. "NOW do you think Robotnik built those droids?"   
  
Sonic nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, He's the only person the world with 'destruction' for a middle name." He stood up, turned and looked up the hill. After a moment, he pointed and said, "Hey Tails, it that a cave up there?"   
  
Tails looked up at the base of the mountain and said, "Yeah, looks like it."   
  
"Well, let's check it out!" Sonic exclaimed eagerly, the spirit of adventure burning within him once again.   
  
They climbed up the hill, picking their way among the scattered boulders. They had got about halfway up when Sonic, who was a few yards ahead of Tails, stopped dead and hissed, "Tails!" The fox looked up in time to see a large, dark figure glide by silently, about thirty yards further up. It loped along until it reached a gigantic rock outcropping a hundred yards away. It spread a pair of huge wings, leaped into the air and vanished into the smoke.   
  
Sonic turned and looked at Tails. They both grinned and exchanged a long wink. And, without another word, they continued up the slope.   
  
The cave turned out to be not much more than a niche in the rock. It was six feet high, ten feet deep and four feet wide. The two walked into it for a look around. The air inside was relatively fresh compared to the haziness outside. The rear wall of the cave bore deep scratches, as if some clawed thing had dug into the rock and gave up without finishing. A small stream of water ran from a hole in the ceiling to a fissure in the floor. Sonic and Tails drank from it. Then Sonic remarked, "Let's head out and see if Robotnik's around. I'm gonna get him for bombing the island like this."   
  
As they turned to go, Tails grabbed Sonic's arm. "Listen. Somebody's coming." Sonic listened, but could hear nothing. Instead, he poked his head out the mouth of the cave and glanced around. A second later he ducked back in. "Knuckles," he whispered. "Hug the walls. He won't see us unless he comes in here."   
  
The two flattened themselves to opposite walls of the cave and waited silently. It seemed Knux was indeed going to enter the cave, though. He paused outside it for a look around, then slipped in quietly. The darkness of the cave prevented him from seeing Sonic and Tails, but they could see him quite clearly. He was dirty; covered from head to toe in ash and dirt. He was carrying a wadded-up object in one hand. Sonic squinted at it. He didn't recognize it until Knux set it on the ground. Then he saw the small oxygen cannister. There was a clear plastic tube leading out of it to a breathing mask. Why did Knuckles have an oxygen mask?   
  
The red echidna had something else in his hands, now. It looked like a chaos emerald, but its shape was different. It lit his hands with a faint green glow. Sonic and Tails watched as he rubbed it in his hands, then tossed it to the floor of the cave. Instantly a beam of light shot from it and spiraled upward, forming a giant ring. The middle looked like liquid fire. It lit up the cave uncomfortably bright, and Knuckles would have seen Sonic and Tails had he not had eyes only for the Ring. Amazed, they watched him as he picked up the breathing apparatus, took a running step forward and leaped through the Ring. He vanished into it, and it disappeared a second later with a *kwing*.   
  
The two observers stared at the place where the Ring had been, then looked at each other questioningly.   
  
"What was that?" Tails asked uneasily, moving away from the wall.   
  
"I donno," Sonic replied uncertainly. "Some sort of teleporter, I guess." He paused. "Well, Knux is gone. We'd better get out of here before he comes back."   
  
Sonic walked out of the cave. Tails followed a few steps behind. As they stepped out into the hazy sunshine, he turned and looked back. "Oh, Son-ic," he sang out.   
  
"What?" Sonic replied, turning.   
  
Tails pointed. "The Ring is back, and Knuckles ain't with it."   
  
"Say what?" Sonic exclaimed. He climbed back up and looked into the cave. "Sure enough," he grinned. "Let's check it out."   
  
"What do you mean?" Tails queried nervously. "Like, jump into it and see where it takes us?"   
  
Sonic's only answer was the glint in his eyes and the smile on his lips.   
  
"Oh no, Sonic! We don't know what'll happen!"   
  
"Aw, c'mon, Tails," Sonic replied. "Where's your spirit of adventure?" As he cautiously approached the Ring, Tails muttered darkly, "I think it fell into the river with you and drowned."   
  
Sonic ignored this and reached for his friend's hand. "All right, at the count of three we'll run for it. 'Kay?"   
  
"Okay," Tails replied reluctantly.   
  
"One," Sonic said, his eyes sparkling. "Twothreego!" Dragging Tails behind him, Sonic hurled himself through the Ring.   
  
The orange fire-light surrounded them for an instant. Then, quick as thought, it all faded away.   
  
Sonic and Tails were standing before a large glassed-in cockpit. It was completely enclosed; no way in or out except by teleporter. There were two pilot seats before the control panel, as well as two flight yokes. The windshield was dark.   
  
"What in the world is this?" Tails queried.   
  
Sonic shook his head. "Beats me. Looks like a ride. Let's sit down."   
  
They both advanced to the big chairs and sat down. As they did, the control panel lit up with colored lights and dials. One screen flashed, "Insert identification."   
  
Sonic looked at Tails. "Oh oh. I don't have any."   
  
"Neither do I," Tails replied. "What does it want, your fingerprints or something?"   
  
Sonic leaned forward and looked at the panel closely. After a few seconds he said, "Hey Tails, lookit this slot right here. Guess what would fit in it."   
  
Tails looked. "Ah ha, your emerald! An exact fit, too, it looks like. What are the little panels around it for?"   
  
"I donno. Let's try it.   
  
Sonic dug out the green emerald and inserted it into the round slot. Its glow came back with a rush, and a loud hum filled the room. The little screen flashed, "Identification recognized. System initiated." Sonic looked at Tails and uneasily clutched the arms of his chair. "Hope we were supposed to do that," he said over the noise.   
  
Then the darkened windshield lit up, showing a bizarre landscape.   
  
The floor (or ground) was a brown-and-yellow checkerboard. It curved over the horizon in a bewildering fashion. But that was not all. Red and blue spheres studded the floor, each one set on the intersection of the floor squares. The blues were grouped in squares with as many as sixteen or as little as four. The reds seemed to be set up as borders. "Weird," Tails said, staring.   
  
"Weird with a beard," Sonic agreed.   
  
They had not yet got their fill of looking when the room hummed again. The cockpit shifted, creaked, then moved forward and down, onto the checkerboard. The little screen flashed, "Two players found. Loading dual player mode."   
  
"Whoa, what's that supposed to mean?" Tails said.   
  
Before Sonic could answer, a big panel closed up between their seats, splitting the cockpit in half. "Hey!" they both yelped. The cockpit jumped, and Sonic's screen said, "Establish radio connection between pods (Y/N)?" After a quick search, Sonic located a keyboard and punched "Y".   
  
There was a click, and from somewhere came Tails's voice. "Sonic! Sonic, are you there? What's happening?"   
  
Not seeing a speaker anywhere, Sonic ventured aloud, "Uh, Tails?"   
  
"Sonic! Where are you?"   
  
"Still in the cockpit. Listen, I think this is some sort of game. I've got the main controls, but you can steer your half around. We've got some sort of radio link going, and--"   
  
Sonic was cut short by a voice saying in two pods, "Game sequence activated. Get blue spheres. Ring amount: zero. Ring goal for level: sixty-four. Ultimate ring goal: three hundred seventy-eight. Player with most rings wins. Go."   
  
There was the crescendoing hum of engines starting up, and Sonic's pod started to move. He grasped the flight yoke and turned it to the left. The pod made a right-angle left turn and cruised slowly forward, at about five miles per hour. Sonic twisted the controls around. The pod made two right-angle turns to the left, letting Sonic see Tails's pod.   
  
The pod was shaped like a flattened torpedo. The dark windshield curved around the front half. The outer hull was red. "I see you," Sonic said.   
  
"I see you, too," Tails replied. "There's a big flat place along the side of yours where mine connects. Let's explore this place."   
  
They turned their pods and ran them side by side. "I don't see any rings," Sonic said. "How are we supposed to get the rings if there aren't any?"   
  
"Beats me," Tails answered. "It's gotta have something to do with the blue spheres ..." * * *   
  
The golden light surrounded them, and they felt their touch the ground. The brightness faded away. They were back in the same little cave.   
  
Sonic grinned and held up the red emerald he had won. Once all the spheres had been collected, it had appeared in the slot next to his green one. He pulled out the green chaos emerald and held it up. It was no longer dead. A faint spark glowed in its middle, but it was not nearly as bright as it had been before. The red one was so bright it looked as if it would catch fire, and was almost hot enough to burn. Its power was tempered by the nearness of the cool green. Sonic put them back in his pocket, keeping them together so the red wouldn't overheat. Then he looked at Tails. "That's two. Two down and five to go."   
  
"There's gotta be more teleporters someplace," Tails said sensibly, "'cause there has to be a way to get 'em all back."   
  
Sonic strode to the mouth of the cave and looked around. "Still smoky out there, " he commented. "Like I said, let's head out and see if Robotnik's anywhere around. I'm gonna get him for bombing the island."   
  
* * *   
  
The island had moved. The south quarter was now facing north. The wind that had been forcing the fire inland was now blowing it back on itself. The entire quadrant had been burned, leaving nothing but black, smoking ruins where the tropical forest had flourished. The air had cleared somewhat, but still reeked of the smoke-smell.   
  
Sonic figured that if they were going to be able to tell if Robotnik was around, they'd have to get up higher. He had spotted a low plateau that ran parallel to the mountain, about two hundred feet up. They made their way along the base of the mountain, looking for a way up. They found a place where the wall had crumbled, leaving a slope of talus that was easy to climb.   
  
As Sonic had figured, the plateau afforded a clear view of most of the southern section. From the beach to the foot of the mountain was a barren landscape of charred trees, leafless and naked. Fortunately the fire had stopped before it reached the east and west quarters. It was odd to see the black right up against the wall of green.   
  
As they surveyed the scene, Sonic realized something. "Tails! Our bi-plane!"   
  
Tails started. "It must have burned! I don't see it anywhere!"   
  
They stared toward the place where they had left it, hoping against hope that they would see its shiny red shape. But no. All they could see was more burned forest. After a few moments of looking, during which all hope drained away, Sonic said resignedly, "Well, I guess that's something else we have against Robotnik. Other than the usual, I mean." He sighed heavily. "C'mon, Tails. I don't know where we're gonna go, but I bet Knux could help us."   
  
"Yeah, but will he?" Tails muttered.   
  
The plateau stretched around the right spur of the mountain, where it sloped down until it met the forest to the north and east. Sonic and Tails followed it, still more than a little downhearted at the loss of their beloved little plane. * * *   
  
They had only walked a little ways before a shadow fell over them. They looked up to see a gigantic blimp swooping down on them. It was the biggest flying object they had ever seen. It was the typical lemon-shaped balloon with the box-like passenger compartment ... with one difference. There was heavy weaponry all along the underside of the balloon.   
  
Its engines made the ground quiver as it came closer. "What's it doing?" Tails shouted above the noise.   
  
"I donno," Sonic called back, eyes on the ship, "but it doesn't look friendly. Let's race it and see if it'll do somethin'." He turned and raced away down the plateau. Tails ran after him, calling, "What do you mean, 'do something'? Like try to shoot us down? Sonic, wait up!"   
  
Sonic slowed a little, allowing Tails to catch up. "Is it Wing Fortress?" Tails panted as he fell into step beside his friend. (Wing Fortress was another of Robotnik's warships they had encountered.)   
  
Sonic shook his head. "Nope. Wing Fortress was about five times bigger, remember? Besides, this is more like a zeppelin."   
  
The humming of the engines overhead crescendoed to a roar as the ship dropped lower. It was keeping up with them easily. Sonic and Tails just cocked their ears backward and listened for change as they concentrated on the terrain ahead.   
  
The metallic whirr of door opening caught their attention. They both looked back, but Sonic spotted their danger first. "Split up!" he hollered at Tails commandingly. The fox broke off to the right, and Sonic went left.   
  
A second later there was a fwoosh, and a smooth, red-tipped torpedo slammed into the ground a heartbeat behind Sonic. The concussion knocked him forward and sent him reeling out of control. He collapsed to the ground, holding his ears. Tails, a dozen feet away, saw what happened and dashed toward his friend. And not a moment too soon. Another missile nosed into the ground at the spot where Tails had been a second before. Terrified, Tails pulled Sonic to his feet. The hedgehog could stand, but his eyes were glazed. He shook his head in a daze as Tails cried, "Run, Sonic! Run!"   
  
In reply, Sonic put his head down and rammed into Tails. They rolled over and over the grassy ground, the deafening rumble of the blimp's powerful engines making the earth quiver beneath them. As they came to a halt, another snub-nosed torpedo impacted the ground where they had been standing. It exploded in a plume of white smoke. Sonic pulled himself and his sidekick to their feet and barked, "Run again, but weave this time!" Tails looked at him worriedly, but there was no time for questions. The two charged away, dodging back and forth, presenting extremely difficult targets.   
  
They were running out of space. The plateau had become a hill, sloping down the east side of the mountain toward the trees that covered its slopes. Missiles were hitting the ground almost constantly as the pilot of the war-blimp tried to keep them from reaching the woods. But to no avail. Sonic and Tails plunged into the cover of the trees, and the blimp was forced to pull up in defeat.   
  
Sonic kept running stubbornly, even as Tails anxiously questioned him as to whether or not he was all right. He didn't stop to answer until they had reached a small lake deep in the woods. There they stopped for a breather.   
  
"Yes, I'm fine," he answered Tails irritably, holding up one hand. "The shock from the bomb hurt my head for a minute, that's all."   
  
"That's all?" Tails repeated, voice high with worry. "Sonic, you still look SICK! You sure you're okay?"   
  
"Tails--"   
  
They were interrupted by the whine of an engine. But not just any engine. This one spelled 'Robotnik' in every way possible. It seemed to be coming from everywhere in general and nowhere in particular. Sonic and Tails exchanged a look of disgust, then looked all around, mostly up at the sky. "You see him?" Tails asked.   
  
"No," Sonic said. "The trees are blocking our view of him. Hey, see those islands out on the lake? We could see him from there."   
  
The 'islands' were little more than four grassy hummocks sticking out if the water. They were connected by a series of flimsy-looking log bridges. The longest bridge connected the nearest island to the shore. With Sonic leading the way, the pair ventured across the bridge to the first hummock, then turned and searched the horizon for Robotnik's hovercraft.   
  
It wasn't long in coming. The tiny, one-man craft came in low over the treetops, hurtling toward them with surprising speed. The usually simple ship sported two round flamethowers, one on each side. As it drew nearer, Sonic and Tails could see ol' Dr. Robotnik grinning with glee beneath his bushy mustache. He loved trying to damage his enemy with his latest creations, and now was no exception.   
  
"He's going to attack," Sonic said evenly, his voice low. "Regular attack plan. Test his defences." The two moved apart, arms and legs relaxed and ready for anything.   
  
The hovercraft was only six feet in diameter and oddly egg-shaped. It was covered with metal patches, repairs from earlier encounters with Sonic. But Robotnik, heedless of danger, swooped down directly toward Sonic. The hedgehog side-stepped this, and studied the flamethrowers on the sides as the ship went by. As it circled around for another pass, Sonic called to Tails, "Hit it right in front of the flamethrower. A good jolt there'll knock 'em loose."   
  
The only problem with that was that the next time around, Robotnik turned on the heat, shooting out five-foot flames. Sonic and Tails let him go unchallenged. As their nemesis came around for a third try, Tails said, "C'mon, Sonic! Think! There's got to be something--"   
  
"I know, I know," Sonic cut in. "I think I have an idea." His eyes lit up with that conniving glint Tails loved to see. As Robotnik came by on his third pass, flames roaring, Sonic came in sideways. He leaped through the air and came down on one of the flaming jets, swiveling it around sideways and down. The flame was now directed into the engine intake on the side. Sonic bounced off and smiled as Robotnik struggled frantically to shut off the fire. He eventually did, but not before the engine died three times. Then he rocketed away, spluttering and furious.   
  
Tails gave Sonic a high five, but their cheering was interrupted by a sneering voice behind them. "You morons." They turned to find Knuckles standing on the next island out. He was standing with his weight on one foot and arms folded, as if he had been there the whole time. "You think that because you won this skirmish," Knux continued airily, "that you've won the war. Not by half, Sonic. We've only BEGUN to fight."   
  
"We?" Sonic interrupted.   
  
"Yeah. We," Knux snapped. "Me'n Doc. The fun's just started, Sonic, and you havin' the green emerald ain't gonna help ya."   
  
Tails started to say something about the other one, but Sonic elbowed him and he kept quiet.   
  
"Knux," said Sonic, "we saw you carrying an oxygen mask. Where did you get it?"   
  
Knuckles appeared surprised. "How'd you know about that? Come over here and I'll show it to you."   
  
He was too friendly all of a sudden. Sonic edged onto the bridge, Tails behind him. They had reached the middle when Knux said quietly, "Tag. You're it."   
  
Sonic and Tails watched in frozen horror as he kicked aside a rock, revealing a small lever built into the ground. He flipped it with his toe. Instantly the bridge fell slack, dropping them into the water. But instead of water, a hole had opened up in the lake just below them, water gushing into it. Sonic and Tails tumbled into it, head over heels.   
  
Knuckles flipped the lever again, closing the hole. The water ceased moving and was still. He turned and walked away. If he had looked up at the mountain, he would have seen the dark silhouette poised on top of a cliff, watching everything with binocular vision. A gust of wind carried a cloud of smoke over it, concealing it for a moment. When it cleared, the cliff was empty.   
Chapter 2   
Hydrocity  
________________________________________________________________________   
  
If the water pipe had been straight, it might not have been as bad. But it was not. It snaked back and forth like a water slide, half full of salty water. Sonic and Tails were swept along in the wet darkness, fighting to keep their heads above water. They could not buck the current and kept running into each other.   
  
Finally the pipe straightened--vertically. They tumbled down and finally out of the pipe.   
  
They splashed into a big water tank. Sonic hit first, plunging down. Tails landed awkwardly on top of him, driving him in deeper. They clawed their way free and finally surfaced a short distance apart. "You okay?" Sonic asked Tails, who nodded.   
  
"Yeah, I guess. Are YOU okay? I hit ya pretty hard."   
  
Sonic nodded. "I guess I'm all right. Nothing broken anyway. Hey, there's a ladder over there; let's get out."   
  
The two swam to the ladder and hauled themselves out of the water, streaming. They stood there a moment, looking around.   
  
They stood on the edge of a big square water tank. It almost filled the little room, its metal sides against two of the brick walls. A sort of deck had been built out from the edge of the hallway entrance. They could see the opening in the ceiling they had came out of--the end of the pipe. Standing there, they could hear a faint whirr of moters or generators somewhere. Everything smelled mouldy; the wet kind of mouldy, like canvas or rot.   
  
Sonic pulled off his gloves and wrung them out. "I'll pry get sick from all the sea water I swallowed," he commented as he twisted the fabric.   
  
"Yeah," Tails added. "I won't need a drink for a week." He sat down on the yellow brick floor and took off his shoes and socks. They sat there a moment, wringing out their gloves and squeezing out their shoes as much as they could.   
  
After a few minutes they were ready to face Hydrocity. Feeling soggy, they stepped into the hallway that ran parallel to the holding room. A faint breeze wafted through, touching their damp bodies. It carried the smell of slime and grease. "Yuck," Tails commented. "This place stinks."   
  
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, no kidding. What's that on the wall down there?"   
  
The two walked down the hall a bit for a look. It was a large plastic map in a dirty glass case. Its colors had faded and the corners were speckled with decay, but it was still readable. It was a floorplan of the waterworks.   
  
It took a few minutes to decide where they were on it, but after a short, heated argument they figured it out. "Okay, we're right here," Sonic said, pointing to a small square in the bottom of the map. It had a symbol above it, marked 'intake'. The hallway adjoining it seemed to be going the same way as the one they were in. "We're on sublevel 1A. It looks like the only way out is on the next level up. This one, level 1. So we gotta find some stairs somewhere."   
  
Tails traced the green-marked hallway with one finger. "Maybe we could find somebody to help us. I mean, a factory like this has gotta have some workers, right?"   
  
Sonic nodded. "Right, little bro. Let's see. Think we could find anybody in this room over here, the one marked 'DESAL'? It looks like it has machines and stuff in it."   
  
Tails nodded his furry head. "Probably. Let's go."   
  
They set out down the hallway. The breeze in their faces was sour, as if dredged up from the depths of the plant. The corridor was made of yellow brick, and black mould grew in the cracks. The occasional hanging light was draped with dirty cobwebs.   
  
"I don't think I'll be able to drink the mainland's water again, after seeing this," Tails complained.   
  
"Kinda turns your stomach, don't it?" Sonic agreed. "Yeah. Who knows what kind of diseases grow down here."   
  
Tails looked toward the ceiling. "How do they keep the ocean out? Water's kinda heavy, ain't it?"   
  
Sonic nodded. "The roof's pry ten or twenty feet of cement or rock. It'd be pretty strong, if they support it right."   
  
They walked along in silence. Tails sighed. "Why do you think Knux threw us down here? I mean, we didn't do anything to him."   
  
Sonic shook his head. "I know. All I did was try to get the emeralds back, and anybody would do that. I guess the guy is just territorial. Viewed us as trespassers."   
  
Neither spoke for a moment.   
  
"Sonic, is Knux designing robots, do you think? 'Member on the radio, 'Come out here to--somewhere--and design ANOTHER robot'?"   
  
Sonic turned his head and looked keenly at Tails. "Ya know, I'll betcha he is. If Robotnik got him like I think he has, then Knux might be doing anything. You know that saying, 'Bad company corrupts good morals.' If we don't do something, Knuckles will be handing over the title deed to Floating Island. Maybe let Robotnik use him as an experiment, even! Gosh." * * *   
  
The radio buzzed in my hands. I adjusted the tuning knob and tried again. "Doc, ya there?"   
  
Robotnik's voice came through loud and clear. "Read you now, Knuckles. What were you saying?"   
  
"I said I got Sonic and his friend off the island. They're in Hydrocity."   
  
"Good." He sounded pleased. "Is there any way for them to get back out?"   
  
"Nope," I replied. "I'm disconnected from the waterworks, and well, you know what happened to their plane."   
  
"Yes," Robotnik purred. He seemed to be thinking. "Sonic still has the chaos emerald. We need to get it from him."   
  
"Why don't you send out the new robot to get it from him?" I asked. I was curious to see our newest creation in action.   
  
"No!" Robotnik barked abruptly. "It's still too early. I don't want Sonic to know about it yet."   
  
"Well," I suggested, allowing a bit of my irritation into my voice, "why don't you go down and get them?"   
  
"Oh, I don't think I can, Knux," Robotnik replied. "I've never been to the waterworks, myself. I wouldn't know where to look. Besides, if you took the emeralds once, you can do it again. I'll keep an eye on the island for you."   
  
I paused, considering. It didn't feel right, somehow, leaving the island (of which I was Guardian) in the care of somebody I hardly knew. But then again, what could it hurt? My optimism toward Sonic had faded. After all, if it hadn't been for him I wouldn't have been nearly killed in the fire. If not for him, a quarter of my island wouldn't at this moment lie in smoking ruins. And, if not for him, Dr. Robotnik and I would have all seven of the chaos emeralds. I couldn't think of anything I would take more pleasure in than punching Sonic out and taking the stolen emerald from his limp body.   
  
"Okay," I told Doc. "I'll hunt him down and get that emerald."   
  
"Right," he replied through the radio. "I'll meet you in the level 1 intake/holding area. Out."   
  
As I clicked off the radio, it occurred to me that for someone who had never been to Hydrocity, Robotnik sure knew the best place to get in. Oh well. Maybe he had meant he had never been all the way through the place. Level 1 is a pretty public area.   
  
I touched the spikes on my knuckles for which I had been named. I couldn't wait to drive them into my rival's face ... but I would have to find him, first. 

* * *

  
  
"Uh, Sonic, shouldn't we be there by now?"   
  
Sonic paused and nodded. "Well, yeah. But we haven't seen the next hallway yet."   
  
Tails hesitated and looked back. "Maybe it was that door back there."   
  
"The map said it was a hall, not a door," Sonic insisted stubbornly. "Let's keep going."   
  
The two kept walking down the dirty corridor. Sonic was getting impatient. "It didn't look that far on the map," he complained. "Are we caught in a time warp or something?"   
  
Tails shook his head. "No, I'm telling you, we passed it already."   
  
Irritated, Sonic turned on him. "Look--"   
  
"Lookit!" Tails interrupted, heading off an argument. "What's that in the floor?"   
  
Sonic turned to look. There was a big metal grate in the brick floor. It was about six feet long, and the edges met the wall on either side. The roar of water passing beneath reached their ears.   
  
"Is it a canal or something?" Tails asked, looking through the grate into darkness. Sonic stood beside him, looking down as well. "Maybe," he offered, "but it could be anything. A pump outlet, or a well, or--" He stepped into the middle of the rusty surface and peered downward. A rush of cool, damp air met him, an updraft from below. He couldn't see the water, no matter how hard he looked.   
  
Out of the darkness beneath Sonic's feet came a loud splash, like a fish jumping. Then something struck the underside of the grate with a clang. Startled, Sonic leaped off the metal. He and Tails jumped back about six feet and stared back at the grate. What was that?   
  
The clang sounded again, softer this time. Then a pair of fingers emerged from the grate and curled around the mesh, as if someone behind it was holding on. Over the sound of the water came a throaty chuckle. Then a voice called, "Hey, anybody out there?"   
  
Sonic looked at Tails, then hesitantly answered, "Uh, yeah."   
  
"Ah," said whoever-was-behind-the-grate. "Can you open the grating and let me out? I'm stuck in the canal down here."   
  
Sonic and Tails walked to the grate and peered through it.   
  
Hanging by both hands was a smallish crocodile. He was wet and shiny, and his eyes gleamed as he looked up at them. "Hi," he said, and gave them a toothy smile. "Open the grate, will ya?"   
  
"Uh, how?" Sonic queried. He wasn't wild about helping this guy.   
  
The crocodile nodded toward the left edge. "There should be some big metal clamps on that side. Flip 'em up, then just lift the grating."   
  
Sonic waved Tails back and mouthed, "Stay here."   
  
"Why?" Tails mouthed back.   
  
"I don't trust this guy," was Sonic's silent reply. Then he turned, clanked across the grate and crouched down next to the six-inch clamps. He saw at a glance they were rusted solid. He told the crocodile this. "The only way I could open this is with a sledgehammer," Sonic said.   
  
The crocodile sighed and looked down glumly. "I guess I'm stuck here. The current's too strong to swim any further upstream, and the exit downstream is blocked by a big watergate."   
  
Sonic looked helplessly at Tails. Tails stared back, then looked at the floor, thinking. Suddenly he looked up at Sonic, his eyes alight. "The emeralds!" he mouthed.   
  
Sonic grinned as the same idea struck him. He turned to the crocodile. "Uh, would you mind turning the other way? I'm going to use a --um--secret I have to open the latches."   
  
"What is it?" the crocodile said. "Oh, I get it. If you tell me you gotta kill me, right?"   
  
"Right," Sonic answered humorously.   
  
The crocodile obediently turned to face the other way. Sonic dug out his two emeralds. He set them both on one of the clamps, then picked up the green and began to move away. The red, left without its neutralizing companion, began to glow brightly, its heat level skyrocketing.   
  
Sonic stopped four feet away. The metal began to sizzle and burn under the fierce heat. "Not hot enough," Tails murmured.   
  
"Yeah it is," Sonic countered. "Wait a second."   
  
The top layer of rust began to bubble, then curled away like a rotten orange peel. The metal beneath glowed a dull red, but its color was hard to tell over the scarlet of the chaos emerald. "What kind of metal is this?" Sonic asked the crocodile.   
  
"Iron," he replied without turning. "You guys burning through it?"   
  
"Yeah, something like that."   
  
There was silence for a moment. Then Sonic said, "Okay, I think it's mutilated enough." He walked up to the red emerald, now sitting in a puddle of molten metal, and dropped the green emerald on it. The red's star-like glow faded to a hot glimmer, cooling almost instaniously. Sonic nudged the two gems out of the way with the tip of his toe, then picked them up. He set them both on the second clamp and repeated the process.   
  
The tunnel smelled of hot metal by the time the second one was melted through. Sonic pocketed the emeralds, then he and Tails pulled the grating open.   
  
The crocodile climbed out of the slimy shaft gratefully. With the grating open, Sonic and Tails could see the white, foamy water sloshing by about six feet below. They closed the mesh with a clang. Then they turned to the crocodile.   
  
He was a head taller than Sonic. He was a dark green all over with a yellow belly. A watertight cannister hung around his neck. "Hi, I'm Vector," he said. "Thanks for gettin' me outta there."   
  
"Um, you're welcome," Sonic said. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and this is Tails. What were you doing down there in the first place?"   
  
Vector looked down sheepishly. "Well, I wasn't supposed to be, really. I was checking on the canal, and the pavement was wet. I fell in, and the current dragged me all the way down here." He looked at them curiously. "What are you two doing down here? Nobody but personnel is allowed lower than level 1."   
  
Sonic and Tails did their best to explain why they had fell down the pipe, but Vector seemed to know they were hiding something. However, when Tails asked him to show them a way out, he complied.   
  
The first thing he did was march them back down the hall to the door they had passed. "See, I told you," Tails muttered to Sonic. Vector opened the door, and they all stepped through.   
  
The room was about the same size as the one with the holding tank, but that was where the similarities ended. This room was scrubbed clean as a whistle. Glaring white florescent lights stared down from the ceiling. But it was what was in the room that grabbed their attention.   
  
Four gleaming brass stills sat against either wall. Each one was about five feet tall by six feet wide. The golden outsides were brightly polished, and a network of pipes ran from the top of each one. They all connected to a big metal pipe on the ceiling that ran the length of the room and disappeared into the wall.   
  
"What's all this?" Sonic asked, gesturing to the humming stills.   
  
Vector looked around. "This is one of the desalination rooms. Contrary to popular belief, we do other things down here than just desal. Our biggest thing, really, is reverse osmosis, but you never hear about that."   
  
"What is it?" Tails asked.   
  
"I'll tell you as we walk," Vector replied. "We've got a ways to go."   
  
They passed through the room and entered the dim hall on the far side. It turned left and went straight for a good distance.   
  
"Reverse osmosis," Vector explained, "is really just a pressurized filter system. The water is pressurized, then fed through the filters. The filters have big fancy names like 'semi-permeable' and 'ion-specific'. That only means they only let plain water through. They strain out salt and other stuff. It doesn't get it a hundred percent pure, though. About one percent of the salt water slips through. That's fine for most mainland uses, like irrigation, and it's okay to drink. But if you want it really clean, ya gotta desalinate it."   
  
"Desalination is a high-tech way to boil water. We used to boil it, actually, but boiling means you have to have it constantly heated to get the amount of steam needed. (It's the steam, you know, that counts. The steam, once it condenses, is pure. The impurities are heavier, so they get left behind.) Constant heating uses a lot of fuel, but if you hook a lot of stills together, you get a lot of steam and it works better.   
  
"The technique we use, mostly, is called flashing. It's fun to watch, but it mostly happens in the stills, like the ones you saw back there. What we do is heat the water over a hundred degrees Celsius, then hold it under pressure. (It'll stay hot a long time like that.) Then, when we're ready for it, we release it into a vacuum. The water flashes into steam. The stills we have are linked together at successively lower pressures, you know, staggering it.   
  
"We don't make as much desalinated water as the ROed water. RO is easier to do, and we pump it straight to the mainland from our holding tanks. Desal is more expensive, and we sell it mostly to the industries that need pure water."   
  
The three of them walked in silence a moment. Sonic and Tails were thinking up questions. "Does Knuckles buy your water?" Sonic asked. "You seem to be pumping a lot up to him."   
  
Vector shook his head. "Nope. Ya see, our machinery is starting to take up more space than our holding areas. And it does take time to dig out more space under the ocean floor. So, a lot of times we end up with more water than we have room for. Poor management, ya see. So we'd just been putting it back in the ocean until Knuckles came along. He takes all the water we'll give him, so he's been kind of a godsend."   
  
"You ever met him?" Tails asked.   
  
The crocodile shook his head. "Nope. Like to. Like to see the Floating Island, too."   
  
Sonic had another question all lined up. "You work down here?"   
  
Vector shrugged. "Yes and no. I'm only part time. For the summer. I generally hang around Maintenance. They let me do the underwater repair stuff. That's 'bout it."   
  
The three walked along in silence for a while. After five minutes had passed, Vector unscrewed the thermos-like container that hung around his neck, withdrew a walkman and headphones, donned them and cranked the volume. After that, if Sonic and Tails had tried to talk to him they wouldn't have gotten an answer anyway. * * *   
  
Thirty minutes later found them standing on a narrow ledge next to a wide water chute. The chute was about three feet wide and looked like a waterslide. It was about half full of dark, oily-looking water. "The water's been treated with chemicals for bacteria," Vector explained. "Not safe for drinking at all. Or swimming. The chutes go all over the place, but this is the main one. Follow it to where it meets the canal. Follow the canal left, upstream, until you find some steps. Go up those, and you'll be on level one. The hallway will be marked, and you'll be able to find your way out from there." Vector fingered his headphones and looked down at the water. "The current gets really strong once a few other chutes meet it, and the canal is plain deadly. Stay out, stay alive, ya know?"   
  
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."   
  
"Hey, no problem. Got stuff ta do, now. See ya!"   
  
Vector left them. Tails stepped to the edge of the walkway. "Too bad it's so dangerous. Looks like it'd be fun to swim down."   
  
Sonic, arms folded, said, "Yeah, too bad. Fulla chemicals. Well, you know the saying, 'Hasta lasagna, don't get any on ya.' Let's go." * * *   
  
I had met Robotnik in level one. He had said he would get 'set up', so to make sure Sonic and Tails ended up in the level one holding area. He had given me a nifty little radar device. It looked like a little gameboy, except it used radar to scout out your surroundings.   
  
Nobody had seen them on level one, so I went down to sublevel 1A. It was deserted as usual, so I turned the radar up full blast and checked out what seemed to be miles of passages. No sign of them. I actually began to worry. Hydrocity ain't safe, really. They use high concentrates of chemicals in some places, and boil water in big open vats in others. Between those is a network of pipes, canals, chutes and gates. I knew they could both swim, but nobody could fight a current like the ones down here.   
  
I was highly relieved when I finally picked up two blips on the screen. It looked like they were following the main waterway out to the canal. Why they were going that way I didn't know. I didn't think there were any stairways down there, but you never knew. I had to get to them before they got to where they were going.   
  
I pocketed the radar detector and began to run. I wasn't far from them, and if I hurried, I could reach them as one of the smaller waterways intersected the main one. Murderous thoughts began to fill my head; murderous, hateful thoughts. And anger. Oh, those horrible feelings! They consumed my mind and heart until I could think of nothing else. I supposed it's a good thing Sonic did what he did ... * * *   
  
"Remember her face when she first saw us doin' stunts on the bi- plane?"   
  
"Oh yeah. Man, was she freaked." Tails sighed. "Too bad about our plane."   
  
"Yeah, I know. I can't believe it burned up. And so well! Not a bit left."   
  
"Musta been the chemicals in the bombs."   
  
"Yeah, maybe. If the bombing was the D in disaster, then that was the I."   
  
"Uh-huh. What do you think the other letters will be?"   
  
"I hope we don't get to find out." Sonic slowed to a walk. "Well, here's the first intersection. Heavy current from here on out."   
  
Two narrower channels joined the larger one at an angle on either side, making the narrowing walls between them shaped like a pizza slice. The ripply water churned below, looking dangerous. Sonic and Tails jumped over the smaller chutes with no trouble and walked on, talking unconcernedly. They didn't notice the figure pattering down one of the walkways and entering their passage.   
  
Knuckles slunk along behind them, thinking of the best way to get the emerald. He decided deception was the best course.   
  
"Hey Sonic!"   
  
Sonic and Tails paused and looked back. "Knux," Sonic growled to Tails, instantly suspicious. Aloud, he said, "Uh, hiya Knuckles."   
  
The scarlet echidna hurried up to them. "Boy, am I glad I found you guys. It's really dangerous down here."   
  
Too friendly, and he didn't look them exactly in the eyes. Sonic and Tails' mental red flags were up and waving. They exchanged a glance, then Sonic cut to the heart of the matter. "Is this about the emerald?"   
  
Knux stood up straight, hesitated, then nodded. Sonic's answer was cold and measured. "No, Knux. It's rightfully mine, and YOU stole the others from ME. No favors. Forget it."   
  
Knuckles's reply was instanious and physical. His fist caught Sonic in the face. Sonic fell back, eyes blazing from the pain. Knux moved up a step, big fists up and ready. His face was dark with anger. He swung again, but Sonic stepped back and he missed.   
  
Sonic wiped his nose, and with a shock saw the red streak across the back of his hand. His nose was bleeding--no--gushing. "Hey, you're bleeding!" Tails said, startled. "He got you! Oh Sonic--" Furious, Tails turned on Knuckles, thrusting his slight body between the two. "Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, you jerk?" Tails demanded.   
  
Knuckles smiled. "Like you?"   
  
He drew back one arm to punch him. But before the blow fell, Sonic grabbed Tails from behind and shoved him sideways. Tails stumbled, trying to duck Knuckles's punch, and tumbled into the water chute. Sonic went with him.   
  
The water was only three feet deep, but flowing very fast. It dragged them downstream, away from their attacker. "Run, you cowards!" they heard him yell. "I'm gonna get that emerald if I have to kill both of you!"   
  
Sonic looked at Tails, the blood staining his upper lip and mouth. "He's lost his mind," he muttered. Tails nodded, and they both knew that jumping into the canal had been the best thing to do. * * *   
  
I stood looking after them, unknowingly in the same stance Sonic had taken when I had stolen the emeralds--back straight, head down, hands clenched. My teeth were clenched as well; fury like I had never known gripped me. I began to run after them on the walkway. I had to know where they would end up.   
  
* * *   
  
Sonic and Tails were moving with the current, dog-paddling a little to keep their heads above water. Sonic kept ducking his head, trying to stop his nosebleed. It was beginning to slow down, but hadn't quite stopped.   
  
The water swirled them past another adjoining waterway, and the main chute deepened about four inches. "Do you think we should try to get out now?" Tails called above the noise of the water. Sonic pulled himself up in the water and looked back. "Nope. Got the Red Fury on our tail. Let's get as close to the canal as we can."   
  
Tails looked back as well. Knuckles was trotting down the walkway ten feet to their rear, eyes fixed on them.   
  
"Sonic, uh, maybe you should give him the green emerald. He looks really mad."   
  
Sonic shook his head. "No way. The red one would go nuclear on us. Then he'd know we'd found the way to get more emeralds and do it himself."   
  
Fifteen minutes and three waterways later, with the water beginning to be dangerous, Sonic said, "Okay, I think we'd better get out now." He jumped out of the water and grabbed at the top of the chute. He found a fingerhold somehow and stayed there. The current churned and dragged at his body, angry at the resistance. Sonic pulled himself out, then looked around anxiously for Knuckles. He was nowhere in sight. Relieved and uneasy at the same time, he turned to help Tails.   
  
Tails had grabbed ahold of the edge, but wasn't strong enough to drag himself up on the walkway. Sonic pulled him out, and they both looked around nervously. The hall was empty, and the only sound was the rushing of the water in the chute.   
  
The two of them turned and began to walk down the passage, their feet squelching in their shoes, ears tuned for any sound behind them. A tense thirty seconds passed before anything happened.   
  
A sharp patter of footsteps behind. They turned to see Knuckles running at them. He tackled Sonic like a football player, driving him to the floor. Sonic went down in surprise, but didn't stay there long. He fought like a pinned wildcat, clawing, kicking and hitting. Even Knuckles wasn't strong enough to keep him down, and in another instant they were both on their feet, glaring at each other.   
  
Tails stood against the wall, watching with a mixture of fear and anger. Sonic and Knuckles clashed again, struggled, and separated. Then Knux jumped forward, shoved Sonic backward and tripped him with a well- placed toe. Then Knux was on him, using his heavier body to pin his rival to the floor, trying to block Sonic's wild blows while dealing them out himself.   
  
Tails saw his chance. He lunged forward and rammed his shoulder against Knuckles's ribs, knocking the echidna over sideways. Knux turned, and almost carelessly socked Tails in the stomach. Tails stumbled back and slumped against the wall, the breath gone from his body.   
  
In the instant that had taken, Sonic had sat up, planted both feet in Knuckles's chest and kicked. Knux fell back and sideways -- and into the water chute with a splash.   
  
Sonic jumped to his feet, blood running hot with battle. Knuckles was out of the fight for the time being, struggling against the current, subdued by his very real danger. He was swept rapidly downstream.   
  
Sonic helped the gasping Tails to his feet. "You all right, kid?" Tails nodded, unable to speak. Sonic stood with him, looking in the direction Knux had gone. As soon as Tails got his breath, they started down that way.   
  
After a few minutes of very fast walking, their ears caught a vague roar, like a waterfall. As they drew closer, they saw the hallway opened out into a long corridor. The water in the chute poured out into a cement-sided canal below. Sonic and Tails stepped down into the lower room. The canal ran under the wall to the right. "Do you see Knuckles?" Sonic said to Tails. "I'd feel really bad if he drowned."   
  
Tails looked at him questioningly. "After what he just did to us, are you kidding?"   
  
"C'mon, Tails, I want him to leave us alone. I don't want the guy to get killed."   
  
Tails realized Sonic was right, and grudgingly turned to scan the canal. After a second he said, "There he is."   
  
"Where?"   
  
"There! See him?"   
  
Sure enough, there was Knuckles. He was half in/half out of the water, the spikes on his hands stuck in a crack in the cement. As they watched, he began to drag himself up it, one fisthold at a time. "Uh oh, Tails," Sonic said, "we'd better get a move on. Looks like he's gonna be another Red Devil."   
  
They turned to go back down the hallway, but Tails said, "Hey Sonic, there's the stairway Vector told us about!"   
  
There it was--a metal staircase leading up into the ceiling. "C'mon," Sonic said, glancing in Kunckles's direction. The two dashed to the stairs and clattered up them. At the top was a heavy steel door marked 'Level 1'. Sonic twisted the handle and threw his weight against it, but the door wouldn't budge. "I think it's locked, Tails," Sonic said grimly. He glanced at his sidekick, but Tails didn't seem to have heard. "Tails!"   
  
The fox jumped. "What?"   
  
"What are you doing?"   
  
"Sonic, a teleporter just appeared down there!"   
  
"Where?"   
  
"Right at the foot of the stairs--don't you see it?"   
  
"I don't see nothin', kid. You sure?"   
  
"Yes, I'm sure, TEENAGER. Let's warp!"   
  
"But I don't--"   
  
Tails grabbed Sonic's hand and tore down the steps. "Quick," he yelled, "before Knux gets out!" The little fox spun his double tails and jumped the last six feet, dragging Sonic behind him. Sonic was about to protest again that he still couldn't see any teleporter, but the next instant he felt the teleporter catch his body and hurl him upward. The golden, sparkling light surrounded them, propelling them, carrying them.   
  
The next instant they found themselves in the little cockpit room. It was all shut down, as before. Tails turned to Sonic. "Toldja I saw one," he said smugly.   
  
"Oh, knock it off," Sonic replied. "It's not my fault I couldn't see it--it was the teleporter's. Take player one. I'll be player two this time."   
  
The two climbed into the pilot seats. Sonic handed the chaos emeralds to Tails, who took them solemnly and placed them in two of the seven holes in the control panel. All the lights came on, the room lurched as the power came on, and the cockpit shield opened to reveal another maze. The floor colors were blue and dark green this time, and the spheres were arranged differently.   
  
"Two players," Sonic sang out, and waved to Tails as the panel closed between their seats. A moment later the intercom crackled to life. "Sonic, you there?"   
  
"Sure. Where do you think I'd go?"   
  
"Hey, the big pod is a lot nicer than the little one."   
  
"Tell me about it. This is like a motorcycle feels after you've been driving a tank."   
  
"Yep. Okay, I'm gonna go this way. You can go that way, or the other way; and don't hit the reds."   
  
"Yes, mother."   
  
"Oh, shut up."   
  
The two pods split up. "Let's break the tie," Sonic said. "I didn't hear the computer for this level. How many rings for this level?"   
  
"Uh, seventy-two."   
  
"Heck, another even number! Oh well. I'll bet I can beat you."   
  
"HA! You're on."   
  
The red pods cruised around the maze, turning the squares of blue spheres to rings and collecting them into the pods' holds. They nearly wrecked collecting the last fourteen spheres, and with relief watched the red spheres fly up off the board and out of sight. The two pods reconnected, and the panel between the seats re-opened. "Who won?" Sonic asked.   
  
Tails shrugged. "I donno yet. Oh, wait a minute, there it is."   
  
The computer tallied up their scores and showed the results on the little screen. "Player 1 = (45+32)= 127. Player 2 = (27+32) = 59. Winner = Player 1."   
  
"See?" Tails said. "I won.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, but I'll win next time.   
  
"Fat chance. Oh, here comes the emerald."   
  
One of the empty slots next to their emeralds began to glow brilliantly. The light inside the slot gathered itself together, shrinking and growing brighter. Then the light resolved itself and faded to a steady glimmer, and there was the gold chaos emerald. The green emerald's glow faded from the brightness it had had during the game. Its light was still dim, but a bit brighter than before.   
  
The little screen blinked, but instead of displaying the teleporter co-coordinence, it said, "Loading level 3."   
  
"Cool!" Sonic said. "We get another level! Hang on, Tails--here we go again!" * * *   
  
Dripping and cold, I hauled myself out of the canal. My face was burning with anger and indignation. I was still raging mad. I crawled away from the edge and slowly stood up, shivering. "I'm gonna get you, Sonic," I muttered. I wiped the water out of my eyes, shook it out of my hair, and started forward. I hadn't known about the access stairway to level 1, but I knew Sonic and Tails must have. That's where they had went. I clanked up the metal steps to the door at the top.   
  
I turned the knob and pushed. The door wouldn't budge. "They locked it," I thought hatefully. "That won't stop me--" Putting all my emotion energy behind it, I swung one fist at the doorknob. It quivered, but didn't give. I hit it again and again. My fists had ploughed through ten feet of solid rock before, and I wasn't about to be foiled by a mere metal door. About the fifth hit the knob broke off. I stuck my hand through the hole and twisted the deadbolt gears. The lock snapped open. I pushed open the door and strode into the hall beyond. They wouldn't escape THIS time. * * *   
  
The red-orange light faded away, leaving Sonic and Tails standing at the foot of the grey metal stairs. They were bewildered for a few seconds until they remembered where they were, then Sonic said, "Well, that was convenient. Two emeralds for the price of one."   
  
"Yeah," Tails added. "That was fun. I still can't figure out how you got more rings, though."   
  
"Elementary, my dear Tails."   
  
"Su-re. I think you cheated."   
  
"How the heck could I cheat? I can barely drive!"   
  
"Right. Well, let's get outta here."   
  
The two clanked up the steps, only to find the previously locked door standing open, knob missing, bolt broken. They stared at it, and Sonic cast a suspicious glance behind them. "Well, I think we can safely assume Knux was here," he mumbled. "But where is he now?"   
  
Tails shivered. "He's such a grouch, he might be anywhere, waiting for us."   
  
Sonic drew a deep breath. "We'd better keep going. Maybe we can get out of Hydrocity without meeting him."   
  
The two set out. The first floor was cleaner and better lit than the floor below, and only an occasional metal pipe snaked across the ceiling. The plant seemed deserted at first, but the further they went, the more people they saw--walking down the halls, talking, or, in one case, in large tour groups.   
  
Sonic stopped and asked a busy secretary for the fastest way out of the factory. The cat was icily polite, as if she hated to be disturbed. She told him to follow the hall all the way to its end and turn right. At the end of that passage was an elevator. Sonic thanked her and he and Tails departed, slightly ruffled by the cat's insulting air.   
  
They made it to the end of the hall and turned right, but instead of finding an elevator, there was a pair of swinging doors marked 'Personnel Only, Do Not Enter.'   
  
Tails looked at Sonic, who shrugged and said simply, "She lied."   
  
"Maybe she meant a left turn."   
  
"Maybe." Sonic turned to the doors and looked through the glass window in one. "It looks like some sort of processing center," he said. "The floor is about two stories down, and I think it's full of water. There's a walkway all the way around it."   
  
"Anybody in there?"   
  
"Just one guy. Looks like he's talking to somebody below the walkway; I can't see who."   
  
"Maybe he could show us how to get out of here."   
  
"Yeah."   
  
Sonic pushed the door open and stepped onto the walkway with Tails behind him. He walked up to the lone figure, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get out of Hydrocity?"   
  
The person said gruffly, without turning, "Authorized Personnel only. You shouldn't be here."   
  
"I know, but I can't get anyone to--"   
  
The person whirled around. His teeth flashed in a smile as he said, "Well Sonic, you want to get out of here, huh?" Knuckles. He was wearing a coat with a hood, so Sonic hadn't recognized him from behind.   
  
The blue hedgehog quickly moved back a step, pushing Tails behind him. "We meet again, Knux," he said, trying not to show how startled he had been.   
  
Knuckles folded his arms. "You want out?"   
  
"Yeah."   
  
"Give me the green chaos emerald and I'll show you how."   
  
"No."   
  
"FINE!"   
  
Knuckles stepped forward, grabbed Sonic's arm and shoved him against the railing. Sonic tried to struggle, but Knuckled deftly twisted his arm up between his shoulderblades. Sonic abruptly stopped moving. Knux was a fighter and much stronger; he held Sonic powerless.   
  
"Like it?" he hissed in Sonic's ear. Sonic could only gasp in pain. The larger echidna was leaning against him, pressing his neck against the top bar of the railing, choking him. "I want the emerald," Knuckles snarled softly. Sonic felt him turn a little and growl, "Keep back, fox. I'll break his arm if you come any closer."   
  
"Tails!" Sonic gasped. He was strangling, darkness beginning to close in around him. Wildly he weighed the consequences of giving Knux the emerald and being done with it.   
  
* * *   
  
I felt Sonic shudder. He would pass out in a minute. "Weakling," I snarled. "Give it up and I'll let you go."   
  
I couldn't see Sonic's face the way I was standing, but Tails could. He was only five feet away, indecision written all over him. I sneered at him. Sonic struggled weakly, wheezing a little. "Okay," he coughed. "I'll ... give ... you ..."   
  
"NO!" Tails screamed. I turned to look at him, only to see him flying at me. He hit me as he had by the water chute, his shoulder in my ribs. I stepped back unintentionally, letting Sonic off the railing. I was dimly aware of his gasp and head shake, but my attention was directed to Tails. The little fox should have been a cougar. No, strike that--if he had been that, he would have done me a lot more damage. He was kicking hitting, scratching, his big ears flat against his head, teeth bared. I couldn't fight back with my hands full of Sonic, so I let go Sonic's arm, grabbed his shoulders, lifted him above the railing and shoved him over.   
  
I turned back toward Tails, only to have the little creep grab my arm and bite as hard as he could. I threw him to the ground in rage. He bounded to his feet, snarling, slight body heaving. "Cool it," I said to him. "This isn't your argument."   
  
"It is now," he snapped. "You'll never get our emeralds, you hear me? NEVER!" Tails took off running, grabbed the top of the railing and vaulted over.   
  
(Expletive Deleted), his teeth were sharp! The bite wasn't bleeding, but I would have the half-circle mark for days. I can't describe the hot fury I felt as I examined it. So, now it was Tails, along with Sonic, I needed to get rid of. Well, I could arrange that. Without bothering to look over the railing at them, I crossed the walkway to a control panel in the corner. I pulled down two levers and waited. What would happen next would be fun.   
  
Suddenly it struck me. Tails had said 'Emerald-S'.   
  
* * *   
  
The water was only twenty feet below the walkway. It was dirty and salty; fresh from the ocean. The holding room was normally empty, but Robotnik had arranged for another tank to be dumped into it.   
  
Sonic was still gasping as he trod water, eyes roaming suspiciously around the room. There was no way out; the water level should have been fifteen feet higher. Obviously a trap. As Sonic was observing this, Tails was swimming back and forth, adrenaline still pumping, hot with anger. "You sure you're all right, Sonic?" he asked for the third time.   
  
Sonic looked at him. "Tails, if you ask me again I'm gonna dunk you. YES! My body is working properly in every function! That includes breathing. I'm fine, really."   
  
"Well, if you're not, I'm gonna tear Knuckles apart."   
  
Sonic was inclined to agree with him, but said, "No you're not. We still need to tell him--"   
  
He stopped as the water began to swirl and churn mysteriously, boiling as if fanned by a propeller. The water vibrated faintly with a low hum, as if machinery were operating in the bottom of the pond. The two were swept apart.   
  
"What is this?" Tails called above the sloshing of the water.   
  
"I donno; the first thing that comes to mind is a shark feeding frenzy, but I don't--"   
  
"Sonic! You really think that?"   
  
"Naw--too impractical. Try to stay above water."   
  
The water had a definite motion, now--rotating clockwise in the tank like a whirlpool. Its speed gradually increased. The center dipped down and down, and the edges splashed up against the walls, higher and higher. The hum of machinery grew louder. Sonic and Tails were automatically forced toward the sinking center. "Stay out of the vortex!" Sonic cried to Tails, paddling with the current, trying to keep near the walls. Tails tried to reply, but caught a wave in the face and coughed.   
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Robotnik was sitting in the bottom of the tank, operating the pumps and propeller from inside his little underwater craft. He kept me filled in on the radio. "Yes, it's working nicely, Knux. You're a genius. In a few minutes they will be drawn into the center."   
  
"Then what happens?"   
  
"We'll hold them there until they drown."   
  
I rubbed the bite on my arm. "Good."   
  
I couldn't help but think of what Tails had said. "Emeralds." Plural. It could have been just a slip, but he seemed to be referring to ones they had. It worried me. How could they have got more? Really, the emeralds themselves played in who retrieved them--usually one had to complete a sort of game or maze to earn one. But how? How did they do it?   
  
I walked to the edge of the walkway and leaned over the rail, looking down. The whirlpool was going nicely. The funnel in the center was ten or fifteen feet deep; I could make out the rotating blades below it. Sonic and Tails were being sucked into it, slowly but surely. I folded my arms on the metal bar and rested my chin on them, watching. How had they got more emeralds? How many did they have?   
  
I lifted my radio in one hand. "Doc, they, uh ..." Something stopped me from informing him of what I had learned. A protective instinct, maybe.   
  
"What was that, Knuckles?"   
  
I cleared my throat, thinking of a cover-up answer. "They're almost to the center."   
  
"Ah, good."   
  
As the two were sucked closer and closer to the vortex, my feeling of uneasiness increased. I fought it, telling myself it would be good to have them both out of the way, but well, it just didn't seem right. I thought, "No, I'm not worried about them--just the emeralds." But my conscience, way down where I had buried it, was still prodding me.   
  
They were only a couple of feet from the dip. "Doc," I said, "we shouldn't go through with this. They've still got information they could give us."   
  
"I'm not stopping now. Only a couple more minutes and my nemesis will be vanquished."  
  
  
  
"But Doc! They--"   
  
"You're not turning chicken on me, are you?" The way he said it made my face burn with shame. I shut up.   
  
Then they were in the vortex, sucked below the surface in the incredible current. As they went under, I suddenly remembered the time I had found a cat washed up on the beach. It had drowned. It was stiff and cold, and so pitifully lifeless ... I had been sick for days after I had buried it, vowing I never wanted to see another creature drowned in my life. Well, here I was, helping drown two people I knew, that I had talked to. The horror of what I was doing came over me. And I knew in that moment that I couldn't go through with it.   
  
I whirled and ran back to the control panel in the corner. Frantically I pushed up the two levers, then reset a few other things. Stop the propeller! No, better yet, reverse it--spin it the other way!   
  
The machinery roared below, and the rushing, sucking sound of the whirlpool was replaced by a huge splashing, like rapids. I'll never know how it worked, but suddenly, it seemed the vortex turned upside down. A huge column of water shot up and out of the tank, bursting the grating the ceiling and shooting up.   
  
I had no idea that we were below the island, or that it was connected to that particular outlet. All I knew was, as I watched the fountain shoot into the ceiling, was that Doc would not be happy.   
Chapter 3  
Marble Gardens  
______________________________________________________________________   
  
The ruins of Marble Gardens were quiet that day. It was roughly on the south side of the Floating Island, and so received much sun. Only a mile or so of space separated it from the burned quarter, but for some mysterious reason, Robotnik had avoided burning it.   
  
The inlet from Hydrocity had not been used for some time. The opening was partly filled with drifted sand and grass, and the five- foot cement pipe was cracked and corroded. Knuckles had stopped using it for the better one further inland.   
  
A rumbling filled the air, shaking the ground, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.   
  
Water flooded out of the pipe, welling up, driven by the fierce pressure below. Dirt was forced out of the opening, allowing more water through. The dirty liquid squirted up a few feet; the pipe was blocked a few feet below.   
  
Then the water exploded into the sky like a hose suddenly unkinked. Soil and rocks went flying. The geyser rose ten feet and hung there an instant, then slowly sank down, pressure relieved.   
  
As the water raced into the nearby dry riverbed, two figures dragged themselves out of the deposited mud and water. Their bodies were streaked with mud; they looked half drowned.   
  
Sonic reached the higher ground of the grass a few feet away and stood there, hands on his knees, gasping. After a moment he slowly stood erect, wiped the water from his eyes and looked around. "Tails!" he called hoarsely.   
  
"Over here!" came the reply. Tails was sitting in the grass near the pipe, watching the water ebb.   
  
Sonic trudged over to him and flopped down. "Well kid," he said, "I guess this is the 'S' in Disaster."   
  
Tails looked at him, his fur plastered wetly to his body, then looked away. "Where are we?" he asked, changing the subject.   
  
Sonic rose to his feet and looked around. They were in what seemed to be a flat grassy plain. It stretched away into the distance for as far as they could see. The air was warm and smelled of grass baking in the sun. To the right the ground sloped away toward a dry riverbed; it now had several feet of run-off in it. Hazy purple mountains towered up in the distance. As Sonic shaded his eyes and stared southward, he saw what looked like smoke drifting into the blue sky, like from a forest fire. After a moment of looking at it, it hit him: they were back on the Floating Island.   
  
Sonic ran a hand over his wet head and turned. "Well Tails, looks like we're back where we started."   
  
"What?" Tails climbed to his feet.   
  
Sonic pointed into the distance. "See? Smoke from the burned part. We're back on the Floating Island."   
  
Tails groaned and stumbled backward in mock horror. "Oh no! Not here again!" He paused, then shook himself like a dog, spraying water in all directions. He stood up and grinned, his fur sticking up in patches. "It wouldn't hurt to explore, I guess."   
  
Sonic slowly lowered his arms and wiped the drops of water from his face. "I wish you'd warn me before you do that." He sparred playfully at the fox, who jabbed back. They did a few rounds of air- boxing before quitting. Then Sonic said, "Let's head out."   
  
Tails cocked his head and looked at him. "Where to? Back to the burned forest?"   
  
Sonic shook his head. "No--to the whatchamacallit over there."   
  
Tails turned. On the far side of the dry streambed, parked on a couple rocks, was a flat, blue thing. "What IS that?" Tails said.   
  
The thing was about five feet across and painted a light blue. The only hint of its unusual qualities was the shiny band around its edge. It narrowed to a point at the bottom--a very broad, oversized top. Sonic rapped his knuckles on it and announced, "Ceramic."   
  
Tails ran a hand over the rough top. "Hey Sonic, look. The top turns but the rest don't, like a pottery wheel. What do you think it's for?"   
  
Sonic shrugged and shook his head. "You're askin' me?"   
  
Tails jumped up on the contraption, failing to notice the rotating surface punched in half an inch under his weight. Even then, nothing would have happened if Sonic hadn't said, "I wonder if it's stuck in these rocks or what."   
  
He shoved the top. It lurched, slid off the rocks and began to drift away, hovering an inch or two above the grass. As it moved, the plate under Tails's feet turned, spinning slowly. Tails walked in place uneasily, looking first at the thing under his feet, then at Sonic.   
  
Sonic walked up to the slowly moving top, his eyes alight with interest. "Cool! How's it do that?"   
  
"I donno--I wanna get off."   
  
In reply, Sonic pointed over Tails's shoulder and yelled, "The blimp! Run!"   
  
Startled, Tails broke into a run, spinning the plate beneath his feet. The top shot away over the grass, leaving Sonic bent double, laughing his head off. Tails, realizing it had been a joke, tried to jump off, but found his feet confined to the plate. Some magnetic field held him there securely. "Sonic, I'm stuck!" he cried.   
  
"Then get off," came the somewhat humorous reply.   
  
"I can't! I'm stuck!"   
  
A second later Sonic came bounding up. "Hang on little bro, I'm comin'." Before Tails could say anything, Sonic vaulted up on the top beside him. But, because the top was still turning, his feet became confined to the area of the plate, too. "Hey, what gives?" he said. He moved to the other side, across from Tails, facing the opposite direction, and began to run.   
  
"What are you doing?" Tails yelped, having to run at the same pace to keep upright.   
  
Sonic flashed a grin at him. "Remember when Slasher told us about the time she saw Knux shooting over the ground on what she said looked like a UFO? It was this thing! C'mon, help me. Let's see how fast this thing'll move."   
  
Reluctantly Tails began to run on the spinning treadmill, afraid of a crash. Sonic, on the other hand, began to pour on his blinding speed, his feet becoming a reddish blur. The top shot away at great speed, zig-zagging over the hilly terrain as Sonic figured out how to steer. Neither of them were affected by the sharp turns; the invisible forcefield had magnetized their bodies, after a fashion, so every atom on the top went the same direction with no ill effects.   
  
"Slow down, you speed demon!" Tails cried, frightened by their pace. "You're gonna kill us!"   
  
"Aw, lighten up, little bro!" Sonic shouted back, breath coming in jerky gasps. "This is fun!"   
  
"Then I'm gettin' off!" Tails jumped with both feet off the top, then ducked his head and summer-saulted off the contraption.   
  
"Ta-ils!" Sonic yelped, looking back. He turned the top around in the opposite direction and went back. The orange fox was dusting himself primly. He looked up fearlessly as Sonic bore down on him. He stood his ground, making Sonic swerve around him. As the top flew past and swung around, Tails yelled, "Last one to the ruins over there is a rotten egg!" He took off, a white-tipped streak, Sonic and the top hot on his heels. * * *   
  
Robotnik let me have it, all right. Chewed me up one side and down the other, and bit my head off so well I was surprised to find it on my shoulders afterward. Doc was mad. Furious! Turns out I had broke the propeller machine, and totally short-circuited his controls. Not to mention Sonic and Tails had been blasted out. Privately, I didn't think they would have survived, but Robotnik didn't agree.   
  
So I was back on my island, standing beside the blasted-out pipe. The water had made it through, all right, but had the two creeps it contained? I didn't see their dead bodies anywhere, so they must have got out and left.   
  
I crossed the dry streambed toward where I had left the hovertop, scanning the soft ground for footprints. Sure enough there were some, pointing in the direction of-- I looked up. Of course, the hovertop was gone. Why was I not surprised? I looked around the low, hilly, green countryside, looking for the top and not finding it. They couldn't have had it long enough to leave Marble Gardens, could they? Wait a minute. Marble Gardens. The ruins! That's where they were; I could almost bet on it.   
  
I started walking. I didn't expect them to be friendly, but maybe I could find out where they got more emeralds. If I could, I could win them away. Then I would run the jerks off the Floating Island for good.   
  
* * *   
  
The ancient ruins of Marble Gardens had mostly rotted away or been swallowed by the deep grass. What was left was carved out of massive granite and marble blocks. Pillars stood here and there, pointing toward the sky like fingers, supports for long-forgotten temples or palaces. A few half-destroyed buildings stood here or there, defying the years of decay. The ground was rough and uneven, the grass having grown over old foundations and piles of rubble.   
  
Sonic left the top beside a big chunk of rock and walked with Tails into the ruins. Unaware they stretched for miles, they vowed to explore it all. "And maybe find a ring teleporter or two," Sonic added with a grin. * * *   
  
I found the top where they had left it. They hadn't broke it or anything, like I'd expected. Jerks. I didn't feel the sullen anger toward them as I had before (probably because I'd just saved their lives), but my heart still held a tasteless dislike.   
  
I climbed up on one of the stone blocks and looked around. Not seeing anything unusual, I held my breath and listened. After a moment I picked out the sounds of two voices talking. I slid off the rock and started in their direction. By my guess, they were somewhere to the north of me, between one and two hundred feet away.   
  
I walked along quietly, following their voices. Suddenly a new sound met my ears, drowning out all others. A rumbling, groaning sound, from somewhere far below my feet, in the heart of the island. An earthquake on a floating island is not good news, but I wasn't too worried. The Lava Reef mines and caves were down there, and often this part of the island got shook up.   
  
What bothered me was the way it felt. It wasn't just a vibration. It felt like when magma forces its way toward the surface, breaking through everything in its way. If so, then this was the first of many, and not necessarily the worst. * * *   
  
"Whoa, did you feel that?" Sonic asked Tails, hands out for balance.   
  
"Uh, yeah. Was it an earthquake?"   
  
"I think so. I hope nothin's wrong with the island."   
  
"That'd be awful, wouldn't it?"   
  
"No kidding. Well, it stopped. Wanna check out the palace-thing over there?"   
  
"Sure."   
  
The 'palace-thing' was the ruins of an ancient temple. Most of its walls were still standing, but the roof had collapsed long ago. Pillars jutted up here and there, looking grim and out of place.   
  
The fox and hedgehog made their way up the cracked cement steps, heading for the interior section. They didn't see Knuckles watching them from the cover of a distant pillar. He knew the ruins like the back of his hand, and knew that Sonic and Tails would probably get lost in the maze-like structure.   
  
  
  
"Perfect," he muttered.   
  
As Sonic and Tails entered the first roofless room, a ring teleporter blazed into sight in the center. "All right!" Sonic yipped. "C'mon, Tails! Let's go get another emerald!"   
  
"Right, Captain!"   
  
The two of them joined hands, ran forward and leaped through the ring. It disappeared with them, leaving no trace behind.   
  
A moment later, Knuckles stepped into the room. He knew it was a dead end, so they couldn't have left it ... but where were they? He scanned the rectangular room twice more, but it was empty. He looked outside warily, in case they had not really come in, then made his bewildered way into the room. There was nowhere for them to have hidden, and there were no other doorways. He looked up at the roofless walls. Maybe Tails had air-lifted Sonic over it. Yeah, that must have been what had happened.   
  
Knuckles walked out. The ruins were quiet for a long ten minutes, the only sound being the occasional chirp of a bird or the breeze knocking down a few pebbles.   
  
Suddenly Sonic and Tails appeared out of nowhere in the spot the teleporter had appeared. Sonic was grinning foolishly, and Tails was almost jumping up and down. They had cheated on the game and won three emeralds. As they earned the first emerald, they changed places before the pods could shut down. This triggered another round. When they beat that one, the computer announced they had a perfect score and could play the last level. So they did, and now had all the chaos emeralds.   
  
"I don't believe we did it," Sonic gulped, looking down at his handful of emeralds. The green one was now glowing brightly, and the red one was fully under control. There was also a yellow, a dark blue, a white, an orange, and a light blue.   
  
"Oh yes," said Sonic. "Super Sonic again! But not around Knuckles."   
  
"No, no, not around Knuckles," Tails agreed. "Gonna do it now?"   
  
"Naw, I'll wait until I need to. C'mon, little bro, let's keep exploring. Hey, I wonder how the top would handle Super Sonic?"   
  
The two left the room and worked their way deeper into the ruins, chattering unconcernedly, climbing over piles of rubble and exploring. Knuckles could hear them, but couldn't seem to track them down. By the time he reached the place he thought they were, they had moved on to somewhere else.   
  
Sonic and Tails entered one of the few structures that still bore a roof. Some of the walls and supports had sank into the ground, and the cracked tile floor sloped down a little. "Weird," Sonic commented, looking down at it. "I wonder why it sank here and nowhere else."   
  
"Maybe the ground was soft and they didn't know it."   
  
"Yeah, maybe."   
  
The building had several adjoining chambers, and they looked around each one curiously. One of them contained a gigantic mural on one wall. Its colors were faded and peeled in spots, but the picture was recognizable. It showed a polygonal creature with sharp features and claws. One of its hands was curved around a green diamond shape. Flying toward it from the opposite direction was a spiky creature painted blue, with a sheet of yellow fire around it. The two looked like a sort of coat of arms, both about to do battle.   
  
"I wonder what this is supposed to be," Tails wondered aloud.   
  
Sonic stepped up to the mural and brushed a hand across it. "It's really strange-looking," he said, "not to mention old. I wonder if it happened."   
  
"This place is so old, who knows. What are those things?"   
  
"You're asking me? We should ask Knuckles. He probably knows."   
  
"On your life."   
  
"Ha, no kidding."   
  
At that moment they were interrupted by a low rumble. The ground quivered underfoot. "Another quake," Tails murmured. "Sonic, let's get out of here. I'm scared."   
  
"Fine with me, little bro."   
  
The two turned and made their way toward the main building, as the doorways there were the only possible exits. The vibration continued, rattling the stone walls and making thin sheets of dust sift down from the ceiling. It felt like it would either let up or get worse.   
  
It got worse. The floor began to lurch, making them stagger and stumble against the walls and each other. About fifty pounds of dirt fell into the hallway they were in, and cracks snaked across the ceiling. "The whole place is gonna go!" Sonic shouted, beginning to panic. "Run, Tails!" But the quake seemed to know they were in danger. It heaved the ground up and down, forcing them to travel at a walk, when they could move at all.   
  
Somehow they made it to the oblong entrance room, hands and knees scratched from hard falls. Dust filled the room, dimming the light. All the world seemed to be in motion, with even the rock walls pitching and tossing. The noise of the groaning walls and rumbling earth was like something out of a nightmare. Sonic kept tripping and catching himself, then helping Tails regain his feet. The confusion was disorienting. Where was the door?   
  
With a crash a huge chunk of the stone ceiling fell to the ground, letting in light from above. It surprised Sonic and Tails. Neither could see the other, so Sonic yelled, "Run, Tails, get out as fast as you can!" Tails's faint acknowledgement reached his ears, so he turned and stumbled through the doorway.   
  
As Sonic tumbled out of the building, there was a colossal cracking sound, as if the biggest eggshell in the world had been stepped on. He turned to see half the building collapse inward on itself, and a gust of dust-filled air pour out the doorway. He stood there a moment, watching and feeling the earthquake subside beneath his feet.   
  
Suddenly a terrible realization struck him. Tails hadn't come out. * * *   
  
The earthquake was one of the worst I had felt in a long time. I stood in an open area until it wound down, then headed for the old meeting hall. I was sure Sonic and Tails were there--   
  
I rounded a bend in the trail just in time to see the roof collapse, taking most of the walls with it. Yeah, that building had been due to go any time.   
  
After a moment I noticed Sonic standing before the entrance, alone. He was staring through the doorway, stock-still. Had he lost something? Yep. He leaped back into the building, and I heard him scream Tails's name. Tails was in there? Then he was dead, sure as shooting. The whole building probably fell on him. Deep down I felt a sort of disappointment. Now only Sonic was left.   
  
A moment later he came back out. I couldn't tell for sure at that distance, but it looked like he was crying. He wiped his eyes with the back of one hand, then took out something shiny in either hand and clapped them together. I jumped as his blue flashed to hot yellow. Super Sonic? He had all the emeralds? Why that no good-- But he was going back into the ruined structure. Still looking for Tails, I guessed. * * *   
  
Super Sonic charged into the rubble, breath catching in his throat. Tails!" he cried. He threw chunks of rock off the pile right and left, strength nearly unlimited. With each boulder he lifted, he expected to see his friend's gold and white fur beneath. As he worked his way into the ruins, he saw one of the walls was still intact. It had fallen across a pillar section, leaving a narrow wedge-shaped space underneath. Oh, if only Tails were safe beneath it! What would he do without his sidekick? Nothing would be fun anymore--   
  
He had nearly cleared enough away to see into the two-foot gap between the fallen wall and the ground. "Tails?" he called, shoving at a fallen chunk of mortar. "Oh, please be alive ..." Enough room now to look beneath. He flung himself to his knees and peered into the dark gap, his yellow glow like a torch. His enhanced vision picked out rocks, crumpled plaster, a boulder--   
  
"Tails!" he cried, near tears. If the fox wasn't under the wall, then he was most certainly dead. But there was no answer. Sonic stood up, chest heaving, looking around at the rubble helplessly. His bright eyes spotted Knuckles, fifty feet away, watching coolly from behind a low wall. "Help me!" the hedgehog yelled at him. Knux had probably been there the whole time, and it angered Sonic. The echidna didn't move. Why bother?   
  
"Sonic ..."   
  
The voice was little more than a whisper, but Sonic's ears caught it. He whirled and dropped to his hands and knees, peering under the wall again. "Tails?"   
  
This time there was movement. One of Tails's hands came into view from behind a boulder. "Sonic," he whispered again, "I'm stuck."   
  
Sonic's relief was nearly overwhelming. He felt like laughing and crying at the same time. Instead, he went down on his belly and crawled under.   
  
He wormed his way to the boulder. Tail was pinned behind it, where the wall met the ground. "Can't breathe," he whispered to Sonic. Sonic took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Hang in there, little bro. Have you out in a jiffy."   
  
He braced himself against the wall, set his feet against the boulder and pushed. The rock slid a few inches, and Sonic heard Tails suck in a breath of air as he was freed a bit.   
  
"Think you can wiggle out?"   
  
"No--still stuck. Another six inches."   
  
Sonic shoved at the boulder and moved it a little more. Tails coughed once, then slowly dragged himself out.   
  
A moment later he and Sonic were outside again. Tails's right side and arm were bruised from crushing contact with the rock, but other than that he was unhurt. Sonic became normal and put his arms around the little fox. Both were trembling. Both were glad the other was alive. And neither wanted to spend another minute in the ruins. 

* * *

  
  
It was about four o' clock by the time they made it out of the ancient city. They were both shaken and weary, and thought it best to rest for a while. They sat down with their backs to a three-foot high wall. The wall was only about thirty feet long, as if intended to be the border for more buildings. Tails rested his head on Sonic's shoulder and closed his eyes. Sonic put an arm around him and tilted his head back against the cold stone, eyes on the sky.   
  
They sat there for a good forty-five minutes. Sonic let Tails sleep, and dozed a little, himself. At last he realized his left arm and foot were asleep, so he gently edged away from Tails, lowering the fox's head to rest on the grass. Tails didn't stir. Sonic slowly climbed to his feet and walked up and down, limping on his numb leg and swinging his arm.   
  
The sun was sinking toward the west. They had another two hours of daylight, Sonic thought. They could spend the night here, he supposed. But what about dinner? He was starved, and knew Tails would be, too. Well, they could always call Slasher ...   
  
He turned and looked at Tails, still asleep on the grass. His eyes lifted and traveled over the wall idly. It was painted with colored designs, lettering and pictures in the style of the mural they had seen earlier. Suddenly he realized this was a mural, too--a continuation of the other one. He walked to the left end and studied the pictures.   
  
The blue creature was depicted in a fighting stance, facing a red one he hadn't seen before. The next picture showed both of them with yellow flames around them, and the green diamond shape above them. There was a series of four more panels, showing them fighting. The last one depicted a yellow creature, also with a yellow flame around it, getting into the fray and driving the two apart. Then the three stopped completely and faced right, toward an apparent polygonal explosion. Sonic recognized the spiky, sharp featured-creature from the other mural. It was shown as it took the green diamond-shape and departed. Now the red, yellow and blue creatures seemed to be helping each other. They were shown in most of the pictures for the rest of the wall, but the paint and colors had worn off most of it. The last picture was a smaller copy of the first one he had seen, of the blue creature confronting the grey spiky one.   
  
The mural stopped there, and the wall had never been finished. Sonic stood back and looked at it, wondering. What did this portray? Had the guardians of the Floating Island warred among themselves for possession of the emeralds? Who were the red, yellow and blue creatures? They seemed to have fought fiercely, but then joined forces to attack the grey thing. Strange. Slasher might know, and if she didn't, she could probably find out for him. Sonic touched the silver whistle that hung at his neck. Well, not yet. Not just yet.   
  
Tails's soft yawn made him turn. The fox was sitting up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Sonic walked over to him. "Hey, Tails. Feel better?"   
  
"Oh yeah, lots. You sleep?"   
  
"A little, I think."   
  
"What do we do now?" Tails climbed to his feet and stretched.   
  
Sonic gestured to the wall. "Get a load of that. It's a whole story, and it has that one we saw on the wall."   
  
"No kiddin'."   
  
They looked at the pictures together. Tails said, "Well gosh, it could be anything. We don't know anything about the island's history-- maybe there was a battle or something."   
  
Sonic's reply was interrupted by an earthquake-like rumble below their feet. They looked at each other in terror, then around quickly to be sure nothing would fall on them. The open area posed no threat. The two braced themselves to keep from falling and looked around in a secure, fearful curiosity. Suddenly Tails said, "Sonic, it's coming from over there. It's not a quake, it's--"   
  
The grassy area before them bulged upward, as if thrust from beneath. A gleaming silver spike thrust through the soil, and was followed by the small craft that carried it. It lurched up out of the ground, showering clumps of sod and earth every which way. Sonic and Tails stared at the hovering ship. It was Robotnik's little warcraft, the doctor himself inside. It bore a sort of heavy armor around the top half, and poised above the bubble windshield was a huge, gleaming, dirty drill.   
  
He didn't notice them at first, as he was checking his instruments. Then he looked up, and they saw him grin nastily. "Uh oh," Sonic muttered. "Trouble." They watched as the heavy drill swung around to the front side of the hovercraft and began to spin. "Scatter," Sonic murmured to Tails. The two waited until the craft started forward, then bolted in opposite directions.   
  
To their surprise, Robotnik didn't pursue one or the other, as he usually did. Instead he smashed into the mural wall, leaving a great hole in it. Sonic felt a queer lurch in his stomach. Those pictures and symbols had stood for something, and were now lost forever. He and Tails watched helplessly as Robotnik swooped back and forth, running his drill through the bricks, destroying them.   
  
At last only one section was left; the one with the copy of the first picture on it. Robotnik hovered over it, flashed a smile at Sonic and Tails, then rotated the drill to point downward. "No!" Sonic cried, lifting a hand, but it was too late. The drill and craft smashed down on the remains of the wall, crushing it to dust. Then the ship pulled up and roared away westward.   
  
Sonic looked at Tails. The fox's flattened ears and bared teeth showed he felt exactly as Sonic did. "Let's get him," the fox snarled.   
  
"Right," Sonic agreed. But first he turned, stepped back to the remains of the wall and picked out a sliver that bore a single word written in a strange language. He thrust it into his pocket with the emeralds, then said, "Okay, I'm ready. "Let's go get the creep."   
  
Tails took off running, Sonic behind him. The fox reached behind him as he ran, twisting his double tails together. He unwound them with a snap and leaped into the air. His tails, now spinning like helicopter rotors, lifted him into the sky. Sonic leaped up at him from below, hands outstretched. Tails caught him and they locked wrists. They had done it so often the process was routine.   
  
Tails lifted into the air, his tails an orange and white blur above him. "Can you go faster?" Sonic panted.   
  
"Sure, hafto anyway."   
  
The ground fell away below them, and Robotnik's ship became visible ahead against the blue and pink evening sky. "I think he's slowed down," Sonic said.   
  
Tails nodded. "I can catch him now. Hang on!"   
  
Robotnik obviously wasn't paying any attention to them. He slowed down and disarmed the drill, retracting it into a protective holder. Sonic and Tails exchanged a wink. They would catch him off guard this time.   
  
"Stay low," Sonic commanded, "or he'll see us."   
  
Thirty feet left. Twenty. Ten. Five. They were now close enough to see the bolts in the silver armor plating. "Up quick," Sonic said. Tails spun his tails a little harder, and they floated up above the craft. Sonic swung his feet forward and let go of Tails, landing on the sheathed drill. He crouched down and peered through the windshield at Robotnik. When the doctor didn't turn, Sonic knew he hadn't felt the slight jolt. With a mischievous grin he pulled out his emeralds, selected the red one, and dropped it into the drill's power insert. He quickly pocketed the emeralds, then jumped off, catching Tails's hands. "Slow way down," Sonic instructed, "and let's watch the fireworks."   
  
Robotnik's hovercraft pulled away from them. With each foot, the red chaos emerald's glow increased, heat growing. The metal inside the drill began to burn and melt, dripping into the wiring. The drill and back end began to smoke. They watched as Robotnik twisted around, looking back in surprise. He shook a fist at them, then gunned his engines and roared away, unaware that was the worst thing he could have done. Sonic and Tails watched with gleeful smiles as dark smoke began to billow out in clouds.   
  
"Betcha he blows up," Tails said.   
  
"Betcha he don't," Sonic returned. "He'll ditch the drill and leave. Just watch."   
  
Sonic was right. A moment later there was a high-pitched whine of machinery running. The drill and armor plating shook loose and fell to the ground with a clang. "Down," Sonic said, eyes on it. "We gotta get the red."   
  
Tails obeyed, beginning to pant. They hit the ground running, Sonic with the green emerald held high. He tossed it into the pile of smoking metal. The stone bounced to a stop right next to the red, cooling it instantly. Sonic snatched them up, then cried, "C'mon Tails, we can't let him get away now!"   
  
"Sonic, I can't fly fast enough to keep up, and you know it."   
  
Sonic huffed loudly, gazing after the retreating ship. "Well then, I'LL carry YOU."   
  
He struck the green and red emeralds together, changing his dark blue to a hot yellow. He crouched down with his back to Tails. "Get on, little bro, and hang on!"   
  
Tails jumped on Sonic's back and wrapped his legs around his waist. "Don't go too fast," he begged, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Super Sonic was in a racing crouch, one hand on the ground, muscles tense. Then he was gone, launched like a bullet from a gun.   
  
What happened next was too swift for Tails to grasp. He had vague impressions of blurry ground, things flying by he took to be trees, and a dark patch overhead Sonic seemed intent on following. Tails couldn't understand what Sonic was saying to him over the roar of the wind, but he seemed to be sidestepping the cries to slow down. More trees, closer together. Bright lights ahead ...   
  
Then Sonic jumped, soaring straight up into the air. Tails barely hung on. He remembered wondering if he was astride a rock fired from a slingshot instead of Super Sonic. They came back to the ground after an eternity, and Sonic skidded to a stop.   
  
"You can get off now, little bro," Sonic said as his yellow glow turned green and faded to blue.   
  
Tails couldn't move.   
  
"Get off!" Sonic exclaimed impatiently, looking over his shoulder.   
  
"I don't know if I can let go," Tails said through clenched teeth, pronouncing each word separately.   
  
In reply, Sonic grabbed Tails's legs and pried them loose from around his waist. He had to literally peel Tails off this way, but understood why when he finally got a look at his friend's face.   
  
All Tails's fur was blown backward. The long fur on his forehead was sticking straight up. His eyes were wide open, teeth locked, hands still curled into fists. Sonic couldn't help but chuckle as Tails looked at him.   
  
"I told you--don't go so fast!" the fox gasped.   
  
Sonic smiled. "Sorry. I couldn't let Robotnik get away, and then I had to jump the wall." He gestured to something behind Tails, who turned and looked.   
  
It was a towering twenty-foot brick wall, with coils of razor wire on the top. It looked like a prison barrier. Tails blanched. "Uh oh. Sonic, I'm almost afraid to ask--where are we?"   
  
"See for yourself."   
  
Slowly, hesitantly, Tails did.  
Chapter 4  
Carnival Night  
_______________________________________________________________________   
  
The first thing Tails saw were the lights. Lights everywhere, of every color there was, all different sizes. The next thing he noticed were the brightly painted buildings, red being the dominant color. Then he saw the loops and curves of a huge roller coaster towering up in the background. Beyond that was the darkening evening sky.   
  
Tails turned to Sonic in surprise. "What is this place?"   
  
"It's called a carnival, Prower."   
  
Sonic and Tails turned to see Knuckles approaching, wearing his customary smirk. He minced along, his body language daring Sonic to fight him. Sonic and Tails sideyed each other and slowly backed away. Knuckles stopped six feet away and folded his arms. "I should welcome you here, but I'm not going to."   
  
Sonic folded his arms, too. "What is your problem, Knux? Why treat us like this?"   
  
Knuckles ignored the question. "I see you regained all the emeralds."   
  
Tails shot a quick glance at Sonic and said nothing.   
  
Sonic nodded slowly, gloved fingers drumming on his arm. "So I did. What's it to ya?"   
  
"A lot. It's useless to demand them, because I know you won't give them to me. But you know what? The Carnival isn't open yet. The front gates are locked, and I doubt you could jump the fence again. You two will stay here without food or water until you're ready to hand over the chaos emeralds." He smiled as if he were doing it for their own good.   
  
"Why you--" Tails began, but Sonic touched his arm. "Chill, little bro." He looked Knuckles straight in the eye. "That could be a really bad idea."   
  
"Why? Gonna fight me or somethin'?"   
  
"No. I have a friend who could make life absolutely miserable for you."   
  
"Stop the charade. You're bluffing."   
  
Sonic looked at Tails. The fox caught his drift and lifted his silver whistle to his lips. Sonic returned his gaze to the echidna. "Wanna call our bluff? What do you think will happen when Tails blows that thing?"   
  
Knuckles sneered, not believing them. "Nothing. It's just an old whistle. What kind of idiot do you take me for?"   
  
"How many kinds are there?"   
  
"Don't change the subject. You could blow it until you turned blue and nothing would happen."   
  
Sonic looked down at himself. "I already am blue."   
  
Knuckles stepped back and began to walk away. "Go ahead, you twerps. But you're stuck here until you give in."   
  
Sonic nodded to Tails. The fox drew a quick breath, then blew his whistle. It was silent, but Knuckles heard him blow through it. He turned. "Ha! It doesn't even work!"   
  
Tails looked at Sonic as the echidna vanished into the twilight. The hedgehog looked smug. "Don't worry, kiddo, he'll regret it. Boy, will he regret it! She'll make him pay, and good." * * *   
  
I stalked through the carnival, passing though bright pools of light, then darkness, then light again. Try to scare me with a wimpy little whistle, ha! Sonic couldn't have friends like that--he was too goody-goody. I wondered what had happened to Tails; he looked like he had been standing in front of a gigantic hair-dryer. Maybe had had tried to use the emeralds the wrong way. Now THAT would have been worth seeing.   
  
I hung a hard left and entered a long alley between four buildings. There was hardly any light, but I knew the way, and there wasn't anything to trip over. That Sonic! What a jerk--Tails, too. Maybe Doc would let me maim 'em before he had at 'em. Yeah, that would be fun. And since I knew the carnival like the back of my hand, I could beat 'em up and escape before they knew what hit them.   
  
Doc had his ship parked at the end of the alley. He was bent over the engines with a flashlight, but stood up as I approached. "They're here," I told him.   
  
"Good," he replied. "Any luck?" He meant the emeralds.   
  
"No," I sad, shaking my head. "Sonic has all of them now, and he's not about to let them go."   
  
Doc snapped his fingers in disappointment. "I'm not surprised. Cut the power whenever you feel like it."   
  
"Okay. Hey, I was wondering--"   
  
"No!" he bellowed. "Not yet! I still have tests to run, and the computer still has bugs. Forget it!"   
  
"I wasn't talkin' about the robot," I snapped irritably. "I wanted to know if you'd like me to disable Sonic and Tails so your new gear would have a chance."   
  
"Oh." He seemed surprised. "You mean beat them up?"   
  
I nodded.   
  
"Sure, go ahead."   
  
I grinned. "Thanks. I'm gonna cut the power now--see ya, Doc." * * *   
  
  
  
Sonic and Tails were walking along aimlessly, looking at the rides and attractions. Tails had his eye on the distant roller coaster. "I wanna go on that, Sonic," he said, pointing.   
  
"Okay little bro, so do I. But it's kinda far away, and we might as well see what else there is."   
  
"Oh, all right. But can we walk faster? It's--"   
  
Suddenly all the lights in the park blinked and went out, plunging them into total darkness.   
  
"Heck," Sonic said.   
  
"Double heck," Tails added. * * *   
  
I stood next to the power box, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. Amazing, I thought, how the flipping of a little switch can effect an entire carnival. It sure was dark. I squeezed my eyes shut and counted ten seconds. When I opened them, my night-vision had kicked in.   
  
I stepped away from the building and turned toward the eastern horizon. The moon would be full tonight, but had it risen yet? Oh, there it was; I could see its rim just beginning to poke up. Good. Enough light to see by, but not too much. I started back toward where I had left Sonic and Tails. I would enjoy this immensely ...   
  
I was about halfway there when I began to have the feeling I was being watched. No, stared at. "It's just the dark," I told myself. "It's nothing, really." I kept moving, trying hard not to look around. But every so often I would toss a glance over my shoulder. I couldn't see anybody, but something was out there. My heart told me so--it ricocheted off my ribs every time I heard a sound. The further I walked, the edgier I felt. I didn't like the feeling.   
  
At last I thought, "I wouldn't feel like this unless there was someone out there. Maybe it's Sonic." I felt a red fury at that. I ducked behind some display booths, wove through them to another open area, then dove into the cover of some shrubs flanking the brick fence. I watched my trail. If it were Sonic, he would come out, look around, and perhaps move on. At least I would see him.   
  
But nothing happened. I think that scared me more than if I had seen whoever it was. I stepped out of the bushes, wishing I hadn't turned out the lights. "Is anybody there?" I called. No answer, of course. I advanced into the open and nervously looked around. Nothing.   
  
"I'm going to find Sonic and Tails," I muttered defiantly. I whirled and ran into the darkness, then stopped as an idea struck me. I stepped into the display booths and grabbed one of the prizes-- a little mirror. Holding it so I could see over my shoulder, I jogged toward where I had left Sonic and Tails.   
  
For exactly thirty seconds nothing happened. Nothing stirred around or behind me, and I began to think it had been my imagination. Then a shadow behind me bulged outward and stirred forward. I stopped and looked back, but by that time it had vanished. "Who is that?" I demanded, angry at being frightened.   
  
To my horror, it answered. The voice said no words, but the sing- song snarl it made was enough. It sounded close, and wasn't where I had seen it. It was all around me. It was something like a lion's growl, but it had a high hiss and whine I didn't recognize. Needless to say, I freaked.   
  
I broke into a run in the direction I had come. I was so scared my feet hardly touched the ground. I kept my teeth clenched so my heart wouldn't leap out of my mouth, so it plummeted into my stomach and stayed there. All I could think of was, "It's going to eat me." The only reason I stopped was to get my breath.   
  
I didn't see anything when I looked around, and I couldn't hear anything over the pounding in my ears and noisy breath. I felt a little more secure. Maybe I had left it behind.   
  
I leaned against the chain link fence at the foot of the roller coaster, staring out into the dark carnival. I didn't remember running all that way, but here I was. Well, I was safe for the moment ...   
  
Three sharp claw-tips touched my shoulders and ran down my back, tinking against the fence links. At the same time, I felt a hot breath on my neck. * * *   
  
Sonic and Tails, standing on the boarding platform of the roller coaster a short distance away, were startled by a sudden shrill scream. They jumped and looked around. "What--what was that?" Tails queried nervously.   
  
"Gosh, I donno," Sonic replied, peering in the direction it had come from. Slowly a smile spread across his face. "Hey, know what?"   
  
"No, do you?"   
  
"I'll bet she got to him."   
  
"Oh man! Was that Knuckles, then?"   
  
"Probably. SHE doesn't scream when she's stalking somebody." They two exchanged a huge grin. They had been stalked by her before (by request), and knew all about it.   
  
After a moment, when they heard nothing else, the two returned their attention to the roller coaster.   
  
Three different tracks intersected in the station, forming a sort of clover-loop through the park. The brightly colored cars were lined up neatly, still and silent. "Too bad it runs on electricity," Sonic said longingly. "It'd be neat to put it through its paces." He stared out at the dim loops and spirals of the track.   
  
Suddenly he turned to Tails, the gleam in his eyes showing he had an idea. "Hey, wait a minute! Remember those tracks we ran on in Robotnik's mine a couple months ago? They were old roller coaster tracks, right?"   
  
"Oh yeah," said Tails, catching on. "Think we could do that on this thing?"   
  
"Why not? I think I'd better go first, though."   
  
"You? Why?"   
  
"To make sure it's safe!" Sonic flashed a grin at his friend. Tails started to protest, but before he could Sonic stepped onto the track and vanished down it.   
  
The track he had chosen contained several sharp turns and drops. He could hardly see them in the darkness, but he managed with the moon gleaming off the silver rails. That is, until he entered a stretch shaded by several large trees. The track swerved right, and thought it went left. His flying feet encountered empty space, and down he fell.   
  
The tracks were low there, fortunately, so he only fell about eight feet. Slightly embarrassed, Sonic picked himself up, dusted himself off and looked around. He was on the far side of the park, only a few yards away from the brick and barb-wire fence. "Too bad I can't jump it," he thought. "There's just not enough room for me to get up enough speed."   
  
He turned his attention to getting back up on the roller coaster. The metal struts and supports didn't look hard to climb. Sonic started up.   
  
He got about five feet up and stopped, as there didn't seem to be any other handholds in reach. He sat in the crook of a strut and a support beam, puzzled. The blocks of moonlight spilling through the track above were confusing. Maybe he could get a foothold in those recessed bolts ...   
  
A sound. Sonic looked down. Footsteps. Someone running through the maze beneath the roller coaster. He pressed himself against the main beam and held still. There was no light anywhere near, and his dark blue made him nearly invisible. He stared intently in the direction of the faint sounds.   
  
A figure came into view. He was running, one hand outstretched to keep from smacking into the pillars. As he drew closer, Sonic could hear his ragged panting. Knuckles? It had to be. A rectangle of moonlight brushed him, showing his red color. Why was he running around beneath the roller coaster? Sonic remembered the scream they had heard. Was Knux being stalked?   
  
Sonic watched Knuckles narrowly. The echidna was slowing down, head turning from side to side, looking around. He looked right at Sonic, but the hedgehog held still and Knux missed him. Knuckles backed up to the foot of Sonic's pillar and crouched down, trying to hide. Only his loud breathing betrayed his presence. Sonic looked down at him, almost close enough to touch the scarlet head, a warm glee spreading over him. "This is a very interesting situation," he thought. "He doesn't know I'm here. What can I do to him?" The answer came immediately. Without stopping to think about it, Sonic acted. * * *   
  
My terror had run away with me twice now. I wasn't aware I had screamed the first time, but the second time it crept up on me, I almost had a heart attack. The thing was big, black and shapeless, with glowing green eyes. The pupils were vertical slits, like cat eyes. Those eyes were all I could see of it--that and the occasional glint of white teeth.   
  
I had ducked under the roller coaster, hoping the Thing wouldn't follow me, but it had. Between my hard gasps, I could hear it hunting. Its breath purred through its throat in soft exhalations, giving away its location. It was coming after me, slow and determined, like when an animal is sure of a meal. I gulped, trying to quiet my breathing. It was close enough to hear me, I was sure.   
  
My survival adrenaline was pumping full and strong, so when I heard a rabid snarl directly above me, I broke and ran without thinking. I tore into the open, blindly clawed my way over the chain link fence and fled into the carnival beyond. But as I did, I heard an outburst of laughter, like somebody was having a grand time. I recognized Sonic's voice. Sonic had scared me? Where the heck had HE come from? As I pondered this, I remembered his threat when he first entered the carnival. "I have a friend who could make life absolutely miserable for you." The whistle. It must have been like a dog whistle, too high for us to hear. His friend was the monster that chased me? Oh gosh, then I was dead. It would kill me for sure.   
  
I sank down beside a carnival booth, exhausted. I couldn't run anymore. My legs felt like rubber, and my entire upper body, inside and out, was on fire. I leaned back against the cool wall and closed my eyes.   
  
After a moment I heard the dreaded purring breath. As it drew nearer I had a terrible urge to open my eyes and look, or to climb to my feet and run, but I did neither. I sat where I was. It came all the way up to the edge of the building and stopped. I knew it was looking at me. I could hear its soft intakes, then the purrs that sent the chills down my spine.   
  
It growled menacingly. I felt my heart turn over with terror, but stayed put. After another long moment it said, "Run, fool." The voice was low and gruff, as if it were speaking through a growl.   
  
I opened my eyes and turned, but it was standing just around the corner, out of my line of vision. I sank back down, legs aching faintly. "No," I said into the darkness. I heard the slight tremor in my voice and was ashamed, but kept on. "I can't run anymore. I have to stop. So go ahead and maul me." I closed my eyes and waited, knowing I was a goner.   
  
Abruptly the purr faded out, leaving the creature's breath barely audible. I heard it sigh, then say, "I admire your courage, Knuckles. I will not harm you." There was the soft thud-thud of its departing footsteps.   
  
It left me alone the rest of the night. * * *   
  
"There you are, Sonic! What took you so long?"   
  
Sonic came skidding into the station, a wide grin on his face. "Hey, Tails. Here's a bit of advice; don't take this track."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"There's a place you can't see the railing. I fell off."   
  
"YOU fell off? Mister sure-footed fell off?"   
  
"Yup."   
  
"HA! Well then, I'll take this one."   
  
"Tails, listen to this--" But Tails had shot away down the track of his choice. Sonic watched him go, still grinning.   
  
The impatient fox tore along the track, occasionally rolling head over heels to increase his speed. His course was as long as Sonic's had been, but simpler, with only a few sharp turns; most of it was curves and drops. After a few minutes Tails whizzed back into the station, skidding at the last minute and nearly colliding with the parked cars at the far end.   
  
Sonic helped him up. Tails was nearly loopy from going so fast, and had to lean against the rear car. Sonic thumped him on the head and said, "You need to get your brakes fixed, kid."   
  
Tails looked up at him innocently. "Fixed? I never had any!"   
  
Sonic chuckled, then told him about seeing Knuckles under the roller coaster.   
  
"Oh man, he jumped about three feet straight up and took off at that height! He didn't touch the ground again until he hit the fence and had to climb over. You should have seen him--what a riot!"   
  
Tails was laughing. "I wish I had been there. Serves the creep right!"   
  
After a few minutes the two jumped off the platform and returned to wandering through the silent, dark carnival. It was about eight- thirty. The western sky was a faint blue, and most of the sky was velvet blue-black and strewn with stars. Sonic and Tails were beginning to feel the effects of adventuring. As Sonic put it, they felt like donuts, they were so hungry. "With great big holes in our middles," he added as an afterthought.   
  
"If I just fall over," said Tails, "with my feet sticking up, you'll know it was too late to save me. Then I'll shrivel up like a raisin ..."   
  
The main gates were their next stop. "If you can't jump 'em, I can," Tails said confidently.   
  
They found the brick wall and were walking along it when a call stopped them. "Sonic, Tails!" They turned. It was Knuckles, hurrying up to them from out of the darkness. "C'mon, I'll get you out of here." He glanced around nervously. "Stay out of the shadows. The gates are this way." He trotted away. Sonic and Tails exchanged a suspicious glance and followed.   
  
But true to his word, Knuckles led them out. The gates were wrought iron and spray-painted white. Knux unlocked them and swung one open. As they stepped past him, Knuckles hissed in Sonic's ear, "I'm gonna get you for scaring me."   
  
Sonic smirked, unconcerned. "So you say. But who was chasing you?"   
  
Knuckles didn't answer. He merely stepped back inside the gates, locked them and walked off.   
  
"He's ticked," Tails said.   
  
Sonic shook his head. "The guy's been ticked since we got here. He's got a problem."   
  
"Yeah, us."   
  
"Ha ha."   
  
They moved away from the gate, looking around. The moon's soft light illuminated a flat, grassy stretch with woods forming the borders. A dirt road led out of the park and curved away toward the distant mountains. Sonic and Tails stepped onto it and walked further into the open. "Let's call Slasher," Tails suggested, holding his stomach.   
  
"Okay," Sonic agreed.   
  
But before either could do anything, a throbbing hum filled the air. They turned, scanning the wall of forest and the starry sky. "Robotnik?" Tails asked.   
  
"Robotnik," Sonic replied grimly. "Kiddo, I want you to go hide in the woods over there. It's dark, and I don't want you getting hurt."   
  
"You mean you don't want me to get in the way," Tails replied grumpily. But he obeyed and moved off in the direction of the trees.   
  
Just in time. The humming noise increased, and Robotnik's ship appeared as it swooped over the carnival wall. Sonic stood in plain sight, head thrown back defiantly, daring his enemy to try something.   
  
The ship bore a new set of accessories. A big brassy wheel encircled the underside, studded with what looked like huge glass balls. The wheel was slowly turning, the glass on it catching the moonlight. Sonic backed away as it approached, sensing that the wheel was the main weapon. Robotnik sneered at him from inside the bubble windshield. The ship halted over the dirt road. Sonic watched as three little clamps released and a gigantic marble fell from the underside. It clunked to the ground and rolled to a halt. It was about two feet in diameter, and its polished surface shown a translucent sea-green.   
  
Sonic watched warily from a safe distance as the wheel began to spin. The glass balls began to glow and spark, as did the marble on the ground. Suddenly lightning began to play back and forth on the wheel. After a second it began to arc downward to the green marble. Faster and faster it flashed, blinding the spectators. A strange electrical wind, created by the tremendous charges, began to stir, pulling all mobile objects in range toward the lightning ball.   
  
Tails was far enough away to be safe, but Sonic was slowly sucked toward it. He fought and struggled, but to no avail. The current was too strong. Suddenly he stopped and said aloud, "Why am I fighting this?" He looked up at Robotnik and yelled, "I might as well give in!" Quick as thought he drew out two chaos emeralds and struck them together.   
  
Instantly his cool blue changed to a hot yellow. He lunged into the center of the lightning, standing over the green marble. The lightning was automatically directed to his body, but, as he was unable to conduct the charge, it bounced off and back up to the ship. The bolts missed the wheel and went straight into the underside of the ship.   
  
Over the noise and crackling of the lightning, Sonic heard Robotnik bellow in rage. A second later the brass wheel crashed to the ground, narrowly missing Sonic. As the ship turned to fly away, Sonic leaped after it, one hand outstretched. He grabbed the back end of the craft and hung on, letting the charges of his invincibility flow into the metal. Unfortunately, he was hanging against the engine. When it backfired he was flung off backward. As Super Sonic this didn't hurt him, but by the time he scrambled to his feet again, Robotnik had escaped.   
  
Sonic deactivated the emeralds as Tails came out to stand beside him. "Gosh," the little fox said, "I thought he had you when you jumped in there."   
  
Sonic nodded slowly. "How depressing. He still escaped! Not even Super Sonic could stop him."   
  
They stood there in silence, staring into the dark sky after the departing ship.   
  
Sonic said, "I'm too tired to worry anymore. Let's call Slasher. She might have some news for us."   
  
Tails nodded and covered his hears. Sonic lifted his own whistle to his lips and blew one silent blast on it. (Sonic's whistle was a lower note than Tails's, and Tails could hear it clearly.) Almost immediately there came a bird-like trill from the woods. The two looked at each other in surprise. "She's already here?" Tails asked.   
  
They walked into the woods, looking for their friend. She found them first. The big dark form that had terrified Knuckles appeared out of nowhere, approaching them. "Hi, you two," she said gruffly.   
  
Sonic and Tails walked up to her without fear. "Hey, Slash," Sonic said. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Oh, just causing trouble and snooping around. Nothing new. You guys wouldn't be hungry by any chance, would you?"   
  
"Oh yeah, we're starved," Tails said.   
  
"Good," said Slasher. "I've got a camp set up a little ways back. C'mon." The creature turned and walked away, and Sonic and Tails followed.   
  
The camp was little more than a sizeable campfire built beside a brook, but to Sonic and Tails it looked wonderful. They sat down beside the fire, extending their hands to its warmth.   
  
The light revealed Slasher to be a reptilian-looking creature. She walked on her hind legs with her forearms held out. Her long, stiff tail was twice her body length. Her narrow, rectangular head was supported by a medium length neck that was always held in an S shape. Dark brown stripes marked her light tan body, and formed big patches around her emerald green eyes. The eight-inch arched claw on either hind foot showed her species: velociraptor. But her size marked her as a mongrel--she was far too large to be a purebred.   
  
Her most noticeable feature were not her teeth or claws, however. They were the golden feathery wings folded close to her sides. They were usually immaculate, with every black-tipped feather in place. Tonight they looked rather ruffled, as if she had been flying hard all day. Sonic noticed this. "What happened to your wings, Slasher?" he asked.   
  
She cocked her narrow head and looked down at them. "I haven't had a chance to preen them yet today," she said matter-of-factly. "I told you I've been up to no good."   
  
Apparently the big raptor knew Sonic and Tails well, for she had prepared a meal of big, messy chili dogs. As the two adventurers fell to, Slasher lay down across the fire from them. She folded her legs beneath her, curled her long tail around, then said, "My day has just about matched yours, stride for stride. Care to hear about it?"   
  
Their mouths full, Sonic and Tails nodded.   
  
Slasher began. "A little bird (a literal little bird) told me you two lost the emeralds by less-than-above-ground-methods, so I came on out. I arrived just as the bomb squad did. I searched as fast as I could, but I couldn't find you. I did find Knuckles, however." She paused, and Sonic and Tails leaned forward expectantly.   
  
"He was running from the fire. From where he was, he couldn't see that the wind had swept the tree fire around him and cut him off."   
  
"What did you do?"   
  
"Well, first I attacked one of the bomb ships. None of them had pilots, but they were built for them. They all had oxygen masks and little tanks. So I took one, flew down and found Knux. He was about dead of suffocation, but he revived as soon as I gave him the mask. I carried him over the fire and left him in the rocks at the foot of the mountain."   
  
"Is that when you ran past us and flew away?" Sonic asked.   
  
"I ran past you?" Slasher said, not really surprised but pretending to be. "Figures. That's why I couldn't find you."   
  
Sonic looked at Tails. "And that's where Knuckles got the oxygen mask. Remember, in the cave with the first teleporter?"   
  
"Oh, yeah. What else, Slash?"   
  
"Well, what I did next is classified information," the raptor said with a wink, "but it involved getting the island turned around so the fire would go out. I was still busy with that when the Flying Battery blimp attacked you. I didn't even see it until it flew away. And then, when Robotnik showed up, I just watched, thinking you two could handle him. And you did, too. Too bad Knux is such a spoil-sport."   
  
"I couldn't find an inlet into Hydrocity I could use, so I ended up on the far side of the island, about the time you guys got washed out. I still didn't know where you were until you blew the whistle, Tails. I came back around and Ah Ha! you were in the carnival. You two looked all right, so I tracked Knuckles back to where he met up with Robotnik. He asked his boss if he could maim you guys, and Ivo agreed. I couldn't let him do that, now could I?"   
  
Sonic had finished eating by this time, and Tails was nearly done. Both were listening with obvious enjoyment. "What did you do to him?" Sonic asked.   
  
Slasher shrugged. "Oh, not much. Just followed him around all over the place until he was about ready to go nuts."   
  
"Who screamed?"   
  
"Oh, you heard that, huh? That was him. He thought he was safe, and I traced one hand down his back."   
  
"Gosh, no wonder!" Sonic exclaimed.   
  
Slasher nodded. "I felt bad after our little game of Cat-and- Mouse ... he actually refused to run from me anymore. So I came back here and rustled up some grub for you two."   
  
Tails shook his head. "I think the red-haired creep was asking for it. Anything else?"   
  
"Just a little. Robotnik left the island completely tonight. He told Knux that if you defeated him again, plan B was to retreat to his secret base in the Ice Cap mountains. I can take you there in the morning, if you like."   
  
Sonic nodded. "Fine with me. Him and Knux are up to something, no question. Did you hear they built a robot together?"   
  
Slasher perked up. "No. Really? How'd you learn that?"   
  
Sonic told her what they had heard on the bi-plane's radio. She seemed concerned when he finished. "Design ANOTHER robot," the dinosaur murmured. "They could have built any number of them. Have you seen any badniks today?"   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other. They had not.   
  
Slasher growled, "Then something's up. The road to Robotnik is paved with robots. Be careful tomorrow, guys. They might decide Ice Cap is the place to test their inventions."   
  
The three of them straightened up their camp. Then Slasher lay down again, broadside to the fire. Sonic and Tails lay down on either side, and she draped her big wings over them for warmth.   
  
Tails was on the side facing the fire, and Sonic was on the cooler, forest side. He curled up against the raptor's warm flank and sighed contentedly. He might not be as warm during the night, but he felt secure. Being with Slasher was like being with a tank escort.   
  
As he lay down, Sonic suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Slash, we saw this weird mural in Marble Gardens, and I wondered if you could read a piece of it. I don't know what language it is." He dug out the brick fragment he had been carrying and gave it to her. She took it and studied it.   
  
"Mm, ancient inscription of some kind. It's a short word-- probably 'and' or 'the' or something. I can't read it, but maybe I can have it translated. Think Knux would know how to read it?"   
  
"Naw, it's pry too old."   
  
"You don't know that. He could be bilingual and you would never know."   
  
Slasher set the fragment down between her forepaws and lowered her head. "Sleep, you two," she commanded. Sonic and Tails lay down obediently.   
  
Tails was soundly asleep in fifteen minutes, but Sonic was not. Very quietly his mind was turning over the possibilities of tomorrow. Ice Cap. One of the highest mountain ranges in Mobius, it was situated in such a way that all the rain coming off the ocean was dropped on them, no matter what the altitude. Because of this, the highest peaks were locked in snow winter and summer. A ski resort had been constructed on one of the more hospitable ridges, but it was the only sign of civilization for miles. Mountain climbers trying to conquer the highest peaks were routinely killed or lost. No one had ever climbed Mount Neverest, the eight-mile high giant, and lived to tell the tale. And so the Ice Cap was avoided and feared by the Mobians.   
  
Sonic had not heard about Robotnik's secret base, but wasn't surprised. Robotnik was always on the lookout for suitable locations to practice his illegal experiments.   
  
And then there was Knuckles. His threat at the carnival gates came back to haunt Sonic. What was he going to do? And when would he be forced to fight him?   
  
Slasher caught Sonic's heavy sigh. She lifted her head from her forepaws and murmured, "What's wrong, Sonic?"   
  
"I can't sleep."   
  
"Aren't you tired?"   
  
"I'm exhausted. I just can't stop worrying about what's going to happen. Knux told me he was going to get me for scaring him, and I'm afraid he'll have the chance tomorrow. What am I gonna do, Slash? Do I fight him?"   
  
Now it was Slasher's turn to sigh. "Well Sonic," she said, lifting her wing a little to look at him, "I've seen how he's been treating you. He thinks if he pushes you around you'll give up."   
  
"He says he wants the emeralds."   
  
"Likely story. He'd still hate you, even if you DID give them to him. No, his problem goes deeper. He's lived here alone for years, and views you not only as trespassers, but as intruders into his life. He wants confrontation."   
  
"So, what do I do? Challenge him?"   
  
"No, no, anything but that. Try to hold off a fight as long as you can."   
  
"Why?" Sonic asked, slightly miffed. "You think he'd beat me?"   
  
"In a word, yes."   
  
"Slasher!"   
  
"It's true, squirt. He's bigger, stronger and more experienced in fighting."   
  
"But you just said he's pushing a fight."   
  
"Yes I did. But you two are nothing more than a couple young cocks, both crowing about how good you are. His spurs are longer than yours, and he is older. He may hurt you badly." The velociraptor paused a moment, feeling Sonic relax resignedly against her side. "Remember, never give up, in or out, and you'll make it."   
  
"I felt like all three today."   
  
"But you didn't, and that's something. If you ever need me, I'll be close."   
  
They lapsed into silence. Slasher lowered her head and closed her emerald-green eyes. Sonic shut his eyes, too, glad to have his mind at rest. As he began to doze, vaguely aware of the rise and fall of Slasher's side, he heard her say quietly, "Rest well. You'll need it."   
  
Peace settled on the clearing.  
Chapter 5  
Ice Cap   
_____________________________________________________________________   
  
I was up early the next morning.   
  
They had beat Doc and run him off, just like I'd told him. So he'd left for the Ice Cap on the mainland. He woke me up at four thirty AM via radio to tell me to come out and help him get some things done. He didn't say exactly what, but he dropped enough hints so that I caught on.   
  
Dawn was brightening the sky as I took control of the island from the highest mountain peak. My idea was to move it closer to the coast. I always did when I went ashore.   
  
There was a certain deep spot a mile or so out from the beach where I could take the island down safely. In the pale dawn twilight I wasn't sure if I could hit it square on. I have this terror of the mainland--you know, that I might crash the island into it. I guess it's because I came so close to doing it when I was younger ... But I don't like to even think about it. It makes me too nervous.   
  
I yawned. Being up late and getting up early was hard on my system. I looked east and drew a deep breath of the cool, fresh air. The sky was a dark purple and magenta, and the mares' tails were dyed a hot neon pink. Hmm. The saying is, red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Red dawn, mares' tails. We were in for a storm sometime today. Great. Have to make sure I was back on the island before it broke.   
  
I rubbed my eyes with one hand and held out my super emerald with the other. Hopefully I would get a chance to rest a little today. If only Sonic and Tails would stay out of my hair ...   
  
A motion caught my eye, off to the left. I glanced that way. Just a large, dark bird rising above the trees, big wings flapping heavily. Boy, it was bigger than the sea birds that hung out around the Floating Island. And its tail was too long ... I caught myself staring. That wasn't a bird. Or was it? I could clearly see the long pinions of its wings, but there wasn't a feather on it anywhere else. A dragon? No, too small, and besides, dragons have bat wings. More like one of those big flying dinosaurs. I had never seen anything like it. Weird ... * * *   
  
Slasher rose into the air, wings pumping. Sonic and Tails sat on her back, Tails in front. The two of them were experienced riders, as was shown by how they gripped the velociraptor's body with their knees and feet, sat up straight and moved with her. They still looked sleepy, and looking at them, nobody would have been able to tell they had already eaten breakfast. They seemed about to fall off.   
  
Slasher had roused them early. Ice Cap was several miles inland, and the flight was long. Getting up before daylight had been difficult, but now with the cool breeze in their faces and the morning light in their eyes, they began to wake up.   
  
The big wings were beating hard as they gained altitude, spiraling up and up. Fifty feet above the trees Slasher leveled out and began flying steadily. It only took a moment for Sonic and Tails to get their bearings. To their right was the eastern sky, red and orange with sunrise, and the Floating Island spread out in shadowed splendor. To their left the sky was still dark as night. A few stars shown there, along with a silver disk of a setting moon. Ahead, above Slasher's high head, could be seen the edge of the island, a bright strip of ocean, and then the vague, distant mainland.   
  
Sonic leaned to one side a little, looking down. Below was a part of Floating Island they hadn't been to yet. Hilly, tree-filled terrain, it was blanketed in grey fog. "What's that?" he called to Slasher. She cocked her head and looked down. She, of course, was wide awake and completely functional. "That's Mushroom Hill," she called back. "How about making that out rendezvous today for lunch?"   
  
"Fine with me," Sonic replied.   
  
"Me too," Tails added.   
  
They swept over the island, finally leaving it behind. Now only the shimmering, blue-green ocean was below them. The sunrise was brightening into yellow and orange, and the wispy clouds had become blue and white. The sea around it shown gold, reflecting the sky. A faint, cool breeze was blowing. "It's going to be nice for a while," Slasher commented, the half-light emphasizing the dark patches around her bright eyes. "But we'll be in for a storm later, probably around noon. If it hits while you two are on the mountain, just stay in the Ice Caves. You should be all right."   
  
"Ice Caves?" Tails ventured.   
  
"Yes," the raptor replied without looking back. "Robotnik melted out an entire glacier to make his base. But, as you have to travel through a maze of tunnels to reach it, it's known as the Ice Caves."   
  
They flew in silence for a while. Still sleepy, Sonic and Tails didn't say much, and Slasher didn't push conversation. Theirs was the comfortable silence between friends, when each knows what the others are thinking.   
  
The ocean's color lightened as it neared the shore, then gave way to the sandy beach. Slasher flew over it, wings beating steadily. Soon they passed over the low coastal mountains and entered the valley. Slasher altered course a little and began to fly northwest. The Ice Cap range was on the other side of the valley, and Robotnik's base was in the middle of it.   
  
Conversation turned to the day before. Sonic sorrowfully told Slasher of losing his beloved bi-plane. Slasher listened until he was through, then turned her head and looked at him oddly. "That's strange," she said. "I wandered all over the burned section; from the air of course. I didn't see any burned pile of metal."   
  
"You didn't?" Sonic said, surprised. "Did you fly over the meadow near the island's edge?"   
  
"Yes I did. I thought you might have parked the plane there ... and I didn't see it. No pieces of metal, either, so it didn't explode. Where did it go?"   
  
None of them could answer that question, and silence reigned for a while as they puzzled over it.   
  
A steady updraft from the valley floor below had been pushing them up for a while. Sonic leaned around Tails and looked down. The valley was still in shadow, and the lights of a city below could still be seen. It looked like part of the Milky Way had been cut out and pasted on the ground. Slasher, sensing his curiosity, said, "That's Mobitropolis, the capital of the world. Don't believe the lights--the city's a whole lot bigger than you think."   
  
"Gosh. Like, how big?"   
  
Slasher waved a hand, indicating a twenty mile circle. "Oh, about that. Then there's the suburbs and everything."   
  
"That's where my uncle lives. You ever been there?"   
  
"Sure. It's a really nice place--for a city. You outta go sometime. It's known as a garden city, so there's almost as many trees in it as in the Great Forest, over there."   
  
The Great Forest spread out to the north and east like a dark blanket, its edges touching the base of the nearby foothills. Slasher motioned to the closer mountains. "Those are called the Dark Mountains. They used to be called that because during winter they were always bare of snow, but now all sorts of bad people live up there. It's almost a gangster hangout."   
  
The mountains swiftly drew nearer. Sonic and Tails were enjoying the ride. It wasn't often they got to ride Slasher for so long, or up so high. As far as Sonic was concerned, it was pleasantest time he had had this whole trip. Tails was enjoying it because he wasn't the one flying, and because Slasher was strong enough to fly five hundred miles at a stretch without tiring.   
  
Slasher's voice startled them both, for they had lapsed into silence for a while. "We're coming to the foot hills now. Hold tight, `cause I have to gain more altitude and there might be some turbulence--," She was interrupted by a sharp gust that blew her sideways several feet before she regained control. "See what I mean? Hold on." Nearly unseated, Sonic and Tails tightened their grip and peered ahead. The rolling, crumpled looking foothills were almost directly ahead. They were green at this time of year; later they would become a soft shade of tan.   
  
"Well," said Slasher, "now it'll get interesting. With ground so hilly there'll be some pretty good updrafts and downdrafts. Sometimes there'll be a tail-wind and I can go really fast. Most of the time, though, it's a headwind that will slow me way down."   
  
The winds the big raptor described were in effect. They hit a large updraft and rode it in a big circling glide. Slasher left it at twenty-one hundred feet, and continued to soar. The foothills far below mounted upward until they were regular mountains, cloaked in dark coniferous forest. The occasional stream or river they saw looked like a shining silver thread woven through the trees.   
  
Slasher kept soaring upward until they were above a few low- lying clouds. It was noticeably colder by this time, and there was a powdering of snow on the highest peaks. Sonic and Tails began to notice that the trees were going so high and no higher, as if they were reaching a boundary. Slasher told them that that was the timber line. "Trees are smart," she commented. "They only grow up as high as they can breathe, but no farther."   
  
They hit a strong steady flow of air that was blowing from south to north. "Cool! Jetstream!" Slasher exclaimed. She guided herself into the wind and glided with it, letting it carry her and only flapping her wings now and then for balance. "Keep a sharp eye out for ice capped mountains," Slasher told her passengers. "The very highest one is the Ice Cap, the one with the Ice Caves. That'll be our landing place.   
  
Sonic and Tails peered down. By now they were way over the timberline. The mountain tops were crowned with bare rock and ice. Only a few towering mountains were above them now. The valleys were full of mist, and the mountaintops came jutting up unexpectedly out of it, coated with rock and snow. And still higher Slasher flew. Their ears were constantly popping from the changing altitude. She was aiming to fly higher than all of them. "Slasher," Sonic called, "can't you fly between the mountains instead of over them?"   
  
"Hey, there's a novel idea," Slasher said, as if the idea had just occurred to her for the first time. "Actually, I can't this trip. The Ice Caves are in the second tallest peak in this range. I have to fly way up, `cause the Caves are almost in the top of the mountain."   
  
They lapsed into silence for a while, just looking at the picturesque landscape. They didn't seem to be moving at all, for they were moving the same speed as the wind and Slasher's wings were spread out, motionless.   
  
Suddenly Slasher said, "Destination in sight. Please fasten your saftybelts and bring your seat back into an upright position." She snorted with laughter at her own joke.   
  
"Where?" her passengers asked simultainously.   
  
"There," she said, nodding her head forward and a little to the right. They saw a white-capped pinnacle jutting up out of the mist and dwarfing the other mountains. The top was completely glaciated, but rocks shown through farther down its white and blue slopes.   
  
After a long look Sonic said, "Gee, I don't like the looks of that mountain. And you said it's the second tallest?"   
  
"Uh-huh. This one has the caves, but the tallest one, Mount Neverest, is a lot meaner."   
  
"Oh, uh-huh, a lot meaner." Sonic's eyes were drawn to the mountain again. "This one looks pretty mean. I don't think I'd want to climb the other one if it's worse than this one."   
  
"Relax," Slasher said reassuringly. "You don't have to climb it, anyway. You get to start from the top and go down. Which reminds me...." She trailed off. Tails simply listened to all this without a word. He didn't like the looks of the mountain either, but, nothing for it, he was still going to see it up close and personal.   
  
Slasher changed course slightly so as to fly directly at the mountain. "The entrance is conveniently located on the south face, so we don't have to circle the mountain. Good thing, my wings are starting to get tired." They flew a few minutes longer, then Slasher settled into a glide, aiming her slim body at a place she had mentally marked as a landing place. "Lie down, you two, flat along my back. Good. Now I can really haul with less wind resistance--," The big wings slowly, almost imperceptibly, began to close. Their speed increased. Sonic and Tails lifted their heads to look and were alarmed at how fast the mountain was coming at them. Tails said nothing for as long as he could stand, then cried, "Slasher, slow down!"   
  
"No way!" was the quick reply. "Prepare for an abrupt halt; you'll be amazed at how fast I can stop!"   
  
Tails put his head down and shut his eyes tight, but Sonic kept watching, fearful, yet fascinated, too. It was dawning on him that maybe this was Slasher's version of 'chicken'; fly full tilt at the mountainside and stop at the last minute. He didn't realize her wings were closing until he began to get the feeling that Slasher was shrinking.   
  
"Slaaasher, stop!!"   
  
She didn't answer, for all her attention was focused ahead.   
  
Sonic tightened his grip and prepared himself for a crash.   
  
But nothing happened. Abruptly her wings unfurled, and with a tremendous backwatering they stopped.   
  
Slasher folded her wings to her sides, gave kind of a dancing half-step and said, "Thank you for choosing Raptor airlines for all your travel needs. Please watch your step as you exit the plane."   
  
Sonic and Tails still had a death-grip on her and didn't take the hint.   
  
"C'mon, you guys, get off! Ride's over!"   
  
They hesitantly sat up, then breathed a heavy sigh of relief into the frosty air. Slasher watched them as they slid off, then gave a short laugh of disbelief. "You two actually thought I would crash? Don't you know how painful that would be? Gosh."   
  
It was cold. They seemed to be on the tip-top of the mountain, for it was relatively flat. The sun shown brightly, and its brilliance on all that white was painful to the eyes. Sonic and Tails squinted and blinked, and blew big clouds of mist into the frozen air. They were cramped and cold from riding so long without moving, and stamped their feet and beat their arms while complaining to Slasher. "Yeah, you should ride more often," was her reply to this. "Wait a minute, I have something that'll get you warm again." The big velociraptor strode away across the snow, her clawed feet crunching at every step. She lowered her narrow head and sniffed at the snow as she trotted back and forth, looking for something.   
  
Suddenly she stopped and bent down, then began clawing at the snow, digging. She whistled tunelessly through her teeth as she dug away the top layer of powder snow and down to the harder crust. "Ah-ha," they heard her say. She tugged at something, pushed away more snow, then pulled out two black objects. She banged them against the ground to knock the snow off, then tossed them to Sonic and Tails. They landed with a chunk at their feet. Sonic picked one up. It wasn't as heavy as it looked. It was about three and a half feet long, and shaped like a wheelless skateboard. One side was smooth as glass and seemed to be waxed, but the other side was rough like sandpaper. There were bindings for a pair of feet. "It's a snowboard!" Sonic exclaimed.   
  
"Yep," Slasher replied, pleased at his surprise. "I brought `em up here a while back, figured they'd come in handy. I hope you two know how to skateboard, `cause that's the closest you can get to snowboarding."   
  
"I do, but Tails doesn't."   
  
"I can, too," Tails snapped indignantly. "Just not as well as you can."   
  
As Sonic and Tails sat down in the snow to strap on their `boards, Slasher gave them a bit of briefing.   
  
"I didn't bring you right to the base, but a little above it. All you have to do is board down the hill until you come to a thing that looks like a trench cutting the mountain in two. It's about twenty feet deep, and the entrance to the caves is down there. I can't say exactly where, `cause it shifts position every so often; glacial movements, you see. Leave your snowboards at the entrance to the caves so we can find `em again.   
  
"So anyway, watch out for the obstacles inside. There are iced slopes and cliffs. I don't know how high the cliffs are, but when I stand at the top and look down it gives me the feeling that the mountain is hollow. It's like, really deep. Some of the ice formations are dangerous, too. Particularly the stalactites. Those are loose because of Robotnik's lighting system. Let's see, there was something else, too ... oh yeah, the subterranean lakes. The lakes were made from what was left when Robotnik melted out his base. There was so much of it that he put it to use as a sort of moat. He put chemicals in the water to keep it from freezing, so there's no ice. Don't fall in, whatever you do. That water will kill you in ten seconds. Keep an eye out for badniks, too. There haven't been any lately, but you know Robotnik."   
  
Sonic stood up on his snowboard and grinned at Slasher. "Gee, Slasher, from the way you're acting you'd think this was my first mission or something. Chill out, we'll be cool."   
  
"Suitable lingo for an ice mountain," Slasher commented drily, then bent down to help Tails fasten his bindings. "Well, maybe I am worrying a little," Slasher admitted after a few minute's silence. "But I've explored the Ice Caves before, and you haven't."   
  
Tails jumped up, ready to go. "Really, Slasher, we'll be fine. Anything else we should know about?"   
  
"Not that I can think of. I'll meet you at Mushroom Hill later, around noon. If you get there ahead of me, wait for me. I've got some other things to do. Goodbye, and good luck!" With that Slasher was gone, powerful wings carrying her eastward until she was out of sight.   
  
Tails looked questioningly at Sonic. "Mushroom Hill? Does she think we can get that far by noon? Heck, maybe you can go that fast, but I sure can't."   
  
"Hmm, she must know something we don't," Sonic decided. "Let's go, I'm getting cold."   
  
He awkwardly walked to the beginning of the slope and peered down. "Pure, unmarked powdersnow, and not an obstacle in sight." Beaming, he looked at Tails. "Tails, this is gonna be good!"   
  
"Last time you said something like that," Tails retorted, "I got hurt." He too was scrutinizing the slope. "Oh well, might as well get it over with."   
  
Tails started onto the slope and slowly got moving. Sonic started off with a jump and took off down the slope, hitting thirty miles an hour almost at once. He cut diagonally across the hill in front of Tails, spraying him with a cloud of powder snow. "Son-ic!!" Tails protested loudly, but by then Sonic was almost out of earshot.   
  
The hedgehog half-crouched and put his weight forward to gain still more speed. The cold wind bit into his face and arms, but he didn't care. He wanted to go even faster. Sonic angled the board straight down the hill and leaned down with it. Fifty, fifty-five, sixty-- Sonic was living up to his name. Arms out for balance, eyes watering from the wind, a cloud of snow in his wake, and the unconscious half-grin on his face showed he was enjoying every second. Man, I thought skateboarding was fun, ha! Have to ask Slasher to bring us up here again sometime--   
  
He spotted a little hill in the snow. He swerved toward it, hit it and left the ground completely. As he sailed through the air, he instinctively crouched and held the edge of the board with one hand. Twenty feet later he hit the ground again and temporarily vanished amid the cloud of snow he stirred up. He reappeared a moment later, streaking down the unmarked slope. He was leveled out again and having the time of his life.   
  
Sonic didn't hear Tails's warning yell. It was the ravine Slasher had told them about. The far wall was thrust up out of the snow, higher than the near one. In that instant Sonic knew that he would crash and burn. This will hurt, he thought, and gritted his teeth as he sailed out over the chasm. He left the edge so fast he didn't have time to fall and smashed into the opposite wall. As it came at him he raised his feet to partly deflect the blow. The snowboard took the brunt of the impact, and it seemed to Sonic that it crumpled like paper, but he hardly had time to see it. His momentum slammed his whole body against the wall of ice with a bone-jarring thud. He dropped to the bottom of the ravine, completely senseless.   
  
Tails had been boarding with more caution than Sonic had, for he knew he wasn't as good as Sonic was. He didn't attempt any whirlwind rides, but he couldn't help falling down at least twice. He got up both times with a layer of powdersnow coating his fur. The further he went the more confidence he gained, and he wove back and forth across the hill, enjoying the creaky swishing the snow made under his board.   
  
After a while he paused and looked around for Sonic. He was way way down the slope, and at that distance looked like a speeding black speck. Tails could also see the big blue crevice in the mountainside that Slasher had told them about. Sonic was heading right toward it at the incredible speed he had gathered, and didn't look like he would stop in time. Cupping his hands to his mouth, Tails screamed, "SONIC, STOP!" It was no use; he was too far out of earshot. A few seconds later Sonic plunged into the ravine.   
  
Fearing the worst, Tails aimed his snowboard straight down the hill and sped down the decline, heart in his mouth. The few minutes it took to cover the slope seemed like an eternity, but he made it almost as fast as Sonic had. As he neared the ravine he twisted his board sideways, skidding and snow-plowing to drag himself to a halt. Panting more from fear than from exertion, he dropped to all fours and peered over the edge of the chasm.   
  
Sonic was lying on his back in the snow, motionless.   
  
Tails threw himself down and ripped off his snowboard, then leaped into the ravine, using his whirling tails as sort of a parachute. It took about thirty second to reach the bottom this way, as the canyon was about twenty feet deep. It seemed to take an unusually long time to Tails, but at last he reached the ground. As soon as his feet hit the snow, he sprinted across it to Sonic. The hedgehog hadn't moved a muscle the whole time.   
  
As Tails reached him, he groaned and opened his eyes. "Sonic! Sonic, are you all right?" Tails asked anxiously as he knelt down beside him.   
  
He simply stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Who are you?" he asked in a whisper.   
  
"Me? I--I'm Tails, you know, your sidekick!"   
  
"No you're not," Sonic replied, his voice rising a little. "Tails isn't white."   
  
"What? I'm not--," Tails broke off as he glanced down at herself, then at his arms and legs. With a relived laugh he jumped up and began to brush the snow from his fur, for he was indeed white.   
  
Sonic chuckled a little and sat up, rubbing his head. "Speed's a sonic blast, but I guess even I have to watch where I'm going." He looked up at the side of the gorge and noticed the whitened, cracked place where he had slammed into the wall. At the memory of his power- packed crash, he winced and slowly climbed to his feet. "Ow, man, I'm gonna be SORE. I hit the wall feet first, and it still knocked me out. Heck, my head hurts." He pointed out the impact area to Tails, then stood there, holding his head and wondering what he was forgetting. After a moment it came to him. "Hey, where's my snowboard? It should still be attached to my feet!"   
  
"It probably vaporized on contact," Tails commented drily. They looked around, then searched the ravine, but never found a trace of it. (To this day it remains a mystery as to where that snowboard went.)   
  
"Bummer," said Sonic. "I hope Slasher don't get mad at me, 'cause I really think that snowboard's gone for good."   
  
"Too bad," said Tails. "Well, at least you weren't hurt too badly."   
  
"Yeah, I guess," Sonic replied. "Well, the next thing is to find the entrance to the caves."   
  
"Good idea. Which way, though?" The ravine stretched away in two directions.   
  
Sonic stood still a few seconds, hand on his chin, thinking and scanning up and down the icy gorge. "Downhill, I think. Slasher said it shifts a few feet a year 'cause of glacial movements. I think glaciers usually move downhill, so let's check down there a-ways. If it's not there, then we'll just juice back up here and make sure we didn't miss it." Sonic crouched down, dug starting blocks in the snow with his feet, and rocketed himself down the ravine, Tails in hot pursuit.   
  
Several hundred feet later they skidded to a halt. Before them was a forbidding cave. It was not made of rock, but solid, packed ice. The entrance was oblong, but more than high enough for them to walk into. Icicles rimmed the top like brittle glass teeth, and a chill breeze wafted out, fanning them. It was like some sort of frozen creature was breathing on them.   
  
In spite of that, Tails was all set to walk right in. Sonic grabbed his arm. "Stop, Tails. This is one of Robotnik's bases, so be very careful. Especially around unguarded entrances. This place looks a little too inviting not to be a trap."   
  
"This place looks inviting?" Tails said incredulously.   
  
"Yep, this is downright friendly compared to some of the places I've seen," was the reply. Cautiously Sonic approached the entry and examined it closely. "Ah-ha," he muttered triumphantly. "Tails, look."   
  
Tails saw what appeared to be two small pipe openings in the icy ceiling, nearly invisible in the blue shadows. "So? What's so great about those?"   
  
"Watch." Sonic picked up a chunk of snow and tossed it inside, beneath the pipes. Instantly a clear substance splashed from the pipes, but it wasn't water, for it dissolved as soon as it touched the snow with a sinister hissing. A cloud of moisture filled the air. Alarmed, Sonic jumped back, dragging Tails with him. The liquid only poured from the pipes for a few seconds, but it took a few minutes for the fog to clear.   
  
"What was that?" Tails asked when it was clear again. "Hot water?"   
  
"Nope, just the opposite," replied Sonic. "It wasn't even water. Did you see how it bounced when it hit the snow? I'd say it was liquid nitrogen."   
  
"Gosh," said Tails, mildly shocked but not surprised. "Robotnik won't stop at anything if it might keep us away."   
  
"Keep ME away, you mean," Sonic said, a little angrily. "He just thinks of you as the expendable sidekick; the tagalong pest. I'm the enemy. For some reason that really miffs me." He glared at the chemical safeguard. "Well, I'm not so easily stopped. Stay back, Tails." He bent down and began scooping up snow, making a big snowball. When it was about as big as a bowling ball he lifted it, looked at the pipes, then stepped forward and threw it underhand into the cave ceiling. He was a good shot. The hard packed snow smashed into the first pipe, damaging the little robotic sensor. A minute later a second snowball crushed the other pipe.   
  
"There," said Sonic, dusting the snow off his hands. "Now we can get in. C'mon, Tails." Together they started into the forbidding indigo depths of the Ice Caves.   
  
The entry hall seemed to have been carved a long time ago, for ice crystals had grown all over the place. They covered the ceiling with delicate, razor-edged feathers, and coated the walls with blue and green ice. There were few places the original crust could still be seen, for seasons of melting and re-freezing had all but erased any traces of tools. About a hundred feet down the tunnel, several turns away from the entrance, the corridor seemed to be re-dug, for the walls and floor were marked with spiral ridges and grooves. It appeared to have been made with an over-sized drill. A few feet further on, though, the floor became smooth.   
  
At the end the passage split into two rather narrow shafts. They curved away from each other, one to the left, the other to the right. Puzzled, Sonic and Tails stood and looked down one, then the other. "Let's try the right-hand passage," Sonic suggested after a few minutes. He started to stride boldly in, but Tails caught his arm. "Wait, Sonic. This is Robotnik's base, so be careful around unguarded entrances." Sonic gave him a funny look, but this time proceeded with caution. It saved his life.   
  
They got in about ten feet before anything happened. Sonic was ahead, Tails nervously trailing at his elbow, when the floor beneath their feet creaked ominously and seemed to shift. "Whoa," Sonic muttered uneasily. He swayed a little, trying to keep his balance. The snow moved again, then began to settle softly downward. "Tails, get out of here!" Sonic shouted. "Now!!" Frightened, Tails whirled around and raced back up the tunnel. Sonic lunged after him as the floor began to crumble out from under his feet. One foot sank through the paper-thin crust and encountered empty nothingness. Sonic started to fall, but saved himself by tumbling to the floor and spindashing to firmer ground. Heart hammering with terror, he scrambled to his feet and fled up the remaining tunnel to Tails.   
  
Side by side they stood, looking back down the tunnel. Sonic grasped Tails's hand as the floor crumbled away for thirty feet up and down the hallway. It was silent for a few stunned seconds, and the only motion anywhere was snow flaking into the newly formed abyss. Tails decided he wanted to see exactly how deep that chasm was. He spun him double tails, rose up into the air, and flew into the floorless passage. Sonic could tell that it must be deep, for Tails looked down, then cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Hello!" The cavern below resounded with echoes. Tails came back looking nervous. "Sonic, I--uh-- can't see to the bottom of that thing."   
  
"Wonderful," Sonic said. "Suddenly I don't feel so hot about exploring a hollow glacier. If I'd walked in like I was going to, I'd be dead by now." He shivered. "Let's try the other tunnel."   
  
The left hand passage curved away to the left, and its floor was good and solid. This hall was apparently the way to go, for there were little cold blue lights set in the ceiling among the ice crystals. The ice formations were clear and scattered the light, so only a few were needed at intervals. They had followed the tunnel around several bends before they felt the breeze. It soon became a steady wind that chilled them to the bone. "Boy," Sonic commented, "how miserable can ya get? I'm freezing!"   
  
"Literally," Tails remarked. "Which is first, frostbite or hypothermia?"   
  
"I don't think I want to find out," Sonic said grimly. "Let's run and keep warm."   
  
The icy floor was slick in some places and rough in others. The tunnel was sloping downward more and more with each bend and twist. The air was bitterly cold by now, and there were very few, if any, melted spots on the walls. Sonic and Tails were jogging through the corridors, trying to keep from freezing solid, and were noticing the apparent lack of opposition. No enemies. There were marks on the floor that could have only been caused by the metal treaded feet of badniks, but the robots were nowhere to be seen. The entire place was deathly still, too. There was absolutely no sound at all, except what they made themselves. "This is kinda weird," Sonic remarked. "I've been in Robotnik's bases before, and one thing they ain't is quiet."   
  
"Maybe it's a trap," Tails suggested. "I hope not. I'm too cold to worry about a nagging bunch of robo--"   
  
Sonic interrupted him with a gasp and nearly fell over backward trying to stop. He skidded several feet before he reached a halt. The reason was because the floor--and indeed, the whole corridor-- ended abruptly about ten feet away. "Man, I need a good pair of ice cleats," Sonic panted. "My shoes just don't cut it." Tails stopped by losing his balance and falling over. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he replied, climbing to his feet again.   
  
Walking delicately, so as not to slip, the pair made their way to the end of the trail and looked over the cliff. What they saw was a vast empty cavern that went both up and down, and out away from them. Light filtered down from somewhere far above, but it didn't do much to the deep blue and indigo shadows that filled the big cavern. "Wow!" Sonic breathed. "The Doc musta melted this all out. Look, this tunnel used to go right on through."   
  
Sure enough, in the far wall was the continuation of their passage. Tails moved a few steps closer to the edge, trying to see down. "Hey Sonic, look!" Sonic looked and saw a very steep slope that seemed to be made of loose snow. It started about a foot below them and dropped down into the depths.   
  
"I betcha I could climb down that and see what's down there," Sonic said boldly, staring at the steep decline.   
  
"Don't, Sonic. It's too dangerous," Tails said uneasily.   
  
"That's what makes it fun," he replied cockily. He sat down on the ledge, swung his feet over, then slid down onto the slope. To his dismay his feet shot out from under him. The dim light made it look like snow, but the whole hill was iced over and slick as glass. Sonic couldn't get traction at all. He began to slide down the slippery slope, and (this one worried him) to gain speed as he went. "Tails, help!" he yelped. Tails didn't realize the whole thing was clear ice, so he jumped down onto the hill, intending to catch him. His feet went out from under him as well and he began the long slide down.   
  
Sonic was struggling, trying to somehow get a foothold and stop himself. He was unable to, for the ice was just too smooth. He couldn't even curl up in a ball for safety. Ten feet above him, Tails was trying to stop as well, but he couldn't, either.   
  
The slope steepened. Sonic and Tails were as helpless as novice skiers on an expert run. It'll hurt when we hit the bottom, Sonic thought grimly. The walls were narrowing. The space between them was down to fifteen feet and shrinking rapidly. Sonic was thinking they'd see the bottom any second when he saw a big block of ice jutting out of the wall to their right. It was only a couple of feet from the slope; within reach.   
  
"Tails! Try to get to that block!" Sonic thrashed around violently, trying to get the least bit of a foothold. One foot struck a rough patch of hard snow just below him. As the rest of his body hit the snow with a grunt, Sonic dug his feet in and jumped.   
  
Both hands smacked down on the edge of the block. Sonic struggled and clawed his way up, and didn't hear the soft creaking sound the ice made. Breathing hard and trembling a little, he turned around and called, "Tails, up here!" Tails wasn't close enough to the snowy patch to hit it, so as he slid past the block he reached out. Sonic held out his hand, and their palms met and locked. Sonic braced himself and pulled him up. The ice block creaked again under this added weight, louder this time, but neither of them heard it. A few seconds later they were both standing on the ledge, making sure they were both still in one piece.   
  
After a few minutes rest, Tails said, "Well, what do we do now?" As if in reply, there was a sharp crack and the whole block shifted. "Uh-oh," they said in unison, looking at each other uneasily. Automatically they both dropped flat to keep the block from moving again. In spite of that, the block tilted a little, then a lot, and with a thunderous crash it ripped loose from the wall and smashed into the icy slope. Hard. The impact sent it sliding down the decline toward the bottom, but at speeds greater than Sonic or Tails had. The two reluctant riders didn't dare jump off for fear of being crushed, but neither of them wanted to stay on. There wasn't anything to hold onto in its frozen surface. The block was relatively smooth, and the only possible way to stay on was to lie down flat.   
  
The cube was crumbling, too. Slowly disintegrating as it raced down the icy slope, leaving a trail of white skid marks behind and proceeding with a screechy sound of ice on ice. Sonic lifted his head to see where they were going, and Tails saw him wince as he cried, "HECK! Hang on, Tails!" It was the bottom of the slope, and appeared to be a solid wall. The block slammed into it with such force that the wall caved inward amidst a shower of ice and snow. They had taken a short cut into another, older, tunnel. This passage seemed unused, for it had no lights and the floor was rough with snow that had melted and re- frozen.   
  
Darkness enveloped them as the the block hurtled through the tunnel. "Where are we, Sonic?" Tails cried, the fear evident in his voice.   
  
"You're asking me?" Sonic replied, his tone echoing Tails's. "I have no clue! Hang on anyway, 'cause I have a feeling we're gonna crash!"   
  
They felt the tunnel slope downward again. By now they were in the very heart of the glacier, and it was well below zero. It was also pitch black. The noise the block was making echoed and re-echoed off the walls, making it impossible to hear anything else.   
  
With a grating, grinding noise the chunk met a curve in the tunnel, but continued to slide, speed relatively unabated. Sonic and Tails were tense with fear, clinging to the block that was threatening to break apart. They couldn't even see where they were going. It was like some sort of sort of terrifying roller-coaster that seemed to have no end.   
  
There was a sudden jarring crash, and another ice wall burst outward under the onslaught of sixty thousand gallons of frozen water. They could see now; they seemed to have re-entered the lit section of the glacier. The tunnel was considerably wider, but was sloping downward in a steeper and steeper grade. It caused Tails to lose what grip he had and begin to slip off. If he slid off his side he would be run over by the frozen brick. "Sonic, help me!" Tails cried in panic. Sonic was none too secure himself, but he freed one hand enough to reach over, grab Tails's hand, and haul him back up.   
  
The shifting weight caused the block to veer into the wall. With a jarring crash it hit the side of the corridor, nearly dislodging its passengers. (It was then the cracks appeared in its icy surface.) The impact rotated the block, so now Sonic was broadside to anything it mowed down. He turned his head to look down the tunnel for possible obstacles. His heart skipped a beat as he caught sight of a dead end. The block was racing toward it. Sonic turned his head the other way and closed his eyes.   
  
The wall turned out to be made of two feet of packed snow. The block smashed through it, but the snow slowed it down and knocked it off balance. It slammed into one wall, then the other, ricocheting back and forth, spinning like a top. With one final sickening crash it hit the wall squarely and shattered into about thirty pieces.   
  
Tails slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor, partly covered with snow and ice, and from the way he felt he would have liked to have stayed there. With a groan he sat up. Sonic was a few feet away, staring up at the ceiling and drawing deep breaths, glad to be alive. Tails stood up shakily, leaning against the wall for support. "Ugh, I feel like--like somebody put me through a blender. Twice." Sonic sat up and looked at him, holding his head. "And you weren't even in front. Oh man! Do I have a headache!" He closed his eyes and sat still for a few minutes. Tails waited patiently.   
  
A little later Sonic slowly climbed to his feet. "I think I can walk now. Let's go." They took the first hundred feet or so at little more than a walk, for they both were feeling more than a little banged up from their rough ride. The further they went, though, the more they loosened up and were able to travel faster.   
  
Sonic and Tails were deep within the mountain by now. It was bitterly cold, and the steady breeze was painfully chilly. For some reason the ice crystals in the ceiling were unstable. Sonic and Tails got jumpy walking under the big ones, for a loud sound would bring them crashing down like glass daggers.   
  
The tunnel went straight for about three hundred yards, then turned a sharp left. Sonic and Tails rounded the bend and found themselves looking into a narrow oblong cavern. That was not impressive; they could see the tunnel went into the other side. But cutting the cavern in half was a subterranean lake. It was so full it seemed to be on a level with the floor, and the water was deathly still. Scarcely a ripple disturbed it's glassy surface. Cautiously, thinking about thin ice, Sonic and Tails approached the edge and looked into the water. There was no bottom; the water just faded away into inky blue darkness.   
  
"Tails," Sonic said after a few minutes of looking around, "does the water--uh--look funny to you?"   
  
"What do you mean?"   
  
"Look across the surface. Is it just me, or does it have a greenish tint?"   
  
Tails squinted. "Ooo, that looks weird. But why would it be green? Only algae turns water green, and it's a little too cold for slime."   
  
Sonic studied the surface. "No ice. That's kinda weird, 'cause it's way below freezing in here, and that water's motionless." He thought a few seconds. "Didn't Slasher say something about chemicals in the water to keep it from freezing? That would make sense."   
  
Tails experimentally dipped a hand in and jerked it away immediately. "Sonic, it's so cold it burns!" he exclaimed as he hurriedly dried his hand and put it under his other arm to get it warm again.   
  
There didn't seem to be any way to cross the lake; the water began at one wall and ended at the other. There were no ledges or anything like that; even the walls were smooth and featureless. After checking for any possibilities and finding none, Sonic said, "Well, it looks like an airlift is the only answer. Robotnik may have thought a deadly moat would keep me out of his base, but he didn't count on you, Tails." Tails spun his tails and flew up into the air. Sonic reached up and locked hands with him. Then the two of them flew across the lake. As they did so Sonic looked down into the blue green water, still trying to see the bottom. There was none, as far as he could tell. It gave him an eerie feeling, being suspended above something so bottomless.   
  
They reached the far side without incident. Up until now, the way to go had been relatively plain; there had been only one tunnel to follow, no way to get lost. But here, at this new tunnel, they were a little puzzled. It branched out in three directions: right, ahead, and left. "Well Sonic, which way do we go?" Tails asked, hands on his hips.   
  
Sonic shrugged. "Beats me." He looked carefully down the left hand tunnel. Cautiously he walked down it about five feet. "Not that way; the lights don't go all the way down." He walked back out and looked down the right hand tunnel. The lights went down it as far as he could see, but this tunnel sloped down, deeper into the glacier. Something about it didn't seem quite right, though. Something made Sonic test every step he took, listen for any sound. Suddenly he whirled around and leaped out of the tunnel. "We'll take the middle tunnel," he said hurriedly. "Go, Tails!"   
  
Sonic practically dragged Tails up the middle tunnel. He didn't stop until they had covered around two hundred feet, and then only because Tails demanded to know what was wrong. Sonic shut him up and looked back down the tunnel, listening. Everything was still. He looked back at Tails. "I don't think it saw me. We gotta make tracks, and right away!" Again, with Tails in tow, Sonic was off.   
  
"What didn't see you?" Tails panted. "What are we running from?"   
  
"Shut up, Tails, and just run! Tell ya later, when we get out of this blasted mountain."   
  
The tunnel sloped steeply upward, and the floor was slick with ice that had melted and re-frozen. Sonic and Tails couldn't go very fast on that, and had to slow to little more than a walk. Sonic kept looking back, down the tunnel. Tails watched him uneasily.   
  
"What the heck was down there?" Tails asked again.   
  
Sonic avoided his gaze. "Nothing."   
  
"Then why are you scared and dragging me away from it?"   
  
"Umm ... can it wait?"   
  
"Sonic, just tell me."   
  
Sonic looked back down the corridor again, then said softly, "It was ... me!"   
  
Tails stared at him. "What?"   
  
"It was another Sonic, but it was made of metal."   
  
"You mean like the one in Death Egg?"   
  
"No, that one was just a badnik. This one was--well, me! And I don't want to stick around to make it's acquaintance. Let's cruise."   
  
They took off again, and they were both spooked. They could imagine the robot back there in the blue gloom, making its way up the tunnel, lights flashing.   
  
Suddenly, from all around them, there came a horrible sound. It was not the robotic noise the two were expecting. It was the sound of hundreds of tons of ice shifting and breaking. Sonic froze, his eyes locked on Tails's. "The glacier's moving!" he hissed. He grabbed Tails's hand and tore up the passage. As they ran the lights faded, then came back on. The glacier was trembling, moaning, shifting. The tremor intensified, then subsided, then intensified again. Icy stalactites crashed down with a plink and shatter, knocked free by the sudden movement.   
  
The tunnel turned this way and that as it wound and corkscrewed its way up and out. Sonic and Tails followed it, sometimes on their feet, others on all fours, but always running. The mountain seemed to have definite motion now, as the glacier slipped downhill a few inches at a time. Slowly the walls began to crush inward, thrust by the tremendous pressure exerted by the shifting ice.   
  
And then it was over. The glacier settled and ceased to move, but Sonic and Tails kept going, their adrenaline pumping. The icy floor was littered with glassy ice fragments, making it all the more slippery. It was hard to run, especially with trying to escape. The two finally had to stop, panting heavily and trying to listen for any more sounds at the same time; not necessarily caused by the ice. But once again, the mountain was deathly still.   
  
Sonic and Tails leaned against the wall to catch their breaths, huffing clouds of vapor into the cold air. "Well," said Sonic, "we made it."   
  
"Yeah," Tails replied. "But I don't want to stick around anymore. Let's get out of this glacier and search the outside for the base."   
  
"Sounds cool to me," Sonic answered. "Let's try spindashing up the tunnel and see if we can't get going." Sonic stepped away from the wall and went into a spin. Tails watched as he shot away up the tunnel, then went into a spin of his own. Together they spun their way up the iciest parts and climbed the rest.   
  
The passage proceeded in a series of switchbacks, twisting this way, then that, and back again, always going up. Sonic and Tails followed it hopefully, for it was the first tunnel they had encountered that led upward. Occasionally they would stop for a rest after covering an unusually steep part, then go on.   
  
After a solid hour of this, they reached the top and found--a dead end. Sonic couldn't believe it, and ran his hands up and down the wall, searching for a way through. Tails just stood limply, hands dangling at his sides, ears and tails drooping. "Of course," he said miserably. "Of course it would be a dead end. Why not? We should have figured." Sonic spindashed and hit the wall with a thud. He bounced off it, but got up immediately. "The wall gave a little," he said. "Maybe it's like one of those blocked tunnels we rode the ice cube through. I'll see if I can smash it." Sonic slammed into the wall again and again as Tails watched. Pretty soon he joined him. Under this repeated, steady onslaught, the ice began to crack and pieces fell to the floor.   
  
The last time Sonic hit, the wall gave way and he fell through into the next room. Tails looked through the gaping hole, and saw him getting to his feet in a passage that looked wide enough to drive a tractor through. There was a lot of light, too. It looked like daylight. Sonic glanced up and down the corridor, then looked at Tails and said, "Bingo." Tails climbed through the wall and looked around.   
  
It was the main part of Robotnik's base. At the far end of the tunnel was a huge cavern that seemed empty. At the other was the exit, and blazing sunlight. Sonic and Tails looked at each other. "Robotnik can wait," Sonic said, and then they both tore up the tunnel to the exit.   
  
It was back on the south slope, but a lot further down. Here and there rocks jutted through the snow, casting blue shadows across the pure white. Looking up, they could make out the peak they had started from, surrounded by other peaks and ridges. Looking downhill they could see trees; they were not that far from the timberline. A hard packed road led from the mouth of the cave into the trees and out of sight down the mountain.   
  
The sun on all that snow after the gloom of the caves made them squint and blink. Sonic retreated into the shelter of the cave to let his eyes adjust, but Tails stayed outdoors. He couldn't bear to go back into those dark, cold, dangerous caves, so stayed outside, crunching around happily in the snow. Sonic watched him as he ran around, then climbed up on a rock outcropping. As he stood at the top, he boldly called, "Look at me, Sonic!" Then he raised both hands above his head in a triumphant gesture. "I, Miles Prower, have successfully explored the Ice Caves and returned alive! I and my companion, Sonic the Hedgehog ..." he trailed off. The grin faded from his face as his gaze fell on something a little ways down the mountain. "What in the ..." Sonic heard him mutter as he jumped down off the rock. Sonic watched him as he trotted down the hill a ways and bent over, looking at something.   
  
And then Tails gave a strange cry and fell backward. He caught himself and whirled around. The look on his face was one of incredible horror and shock. "Sonic, get over here!" he cried, panic in his voice. Startled, Sonic was there in an instant. "What?"   
  
Tails turned and pointed at an object in the snow, speechless with horror. Sonic walked over to it. "What's wrong? It's just a--a-- ahh ..." he trailed off, eyes riveted on the thing in the snow. But it wasn't someTHING. It was someONE.   
  
It was Knuckles.   
  
Knux seemed to have come into contact with a liquid nitrogen badnik, for he was frozen, locked in a chunk of ice. He was halfway curled, and his face showed surprise, frozen in one position. The ice was nearly crystal clear, allowing every grisly detail to be observed.   
  
Sonic didn't want to look anymore, but couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. He was numb, petrified with shock. Time seemed to stand still, and he realized he hadn't breathed in a long time. He drew a deep, choking breath, and with a great effort closed his eyes and turned away. Even then he couldn't think straight. He covered his eyes with one hand and stood still, trying to get a grip. Knuckles might have become a friend, eventually. And it is rather sickening to find your rival frozen and dead in the snow.   
  
Sonic wasn't aware of how long he had stood there until Tails gently touched his hand and said, "Sonic, are--are you okay? You look like you're about to throw up."   
  
"No to the first, yes to the second," Sonic replied. His voice had a hollow sound to it. "I--I just can't believe that he's--he's ..." Sonic covered his face with both hands and broke off.   
  
Tails cast a glance in Knuckles's direction, then hurriedly looked away. Something drew his eyes back for a second and longer look, though. "Sonic."   
  
He didn't seem to hear him.   
  
"Sonic," Tails persisted.   
  
"What," he replied heavily. It was a word, not a question.   
  
"The ice is sitting on top of the snow."   
  
"So." Again, it was not a question.   
  
"So he can't have been frozen long, could he?"   
  
Sonic spun around, glanced at Tails, then at Knuckles. His eyes had a strange look to them. Then, though he really didn't want to, he stepped over and examined the surface of the ice.   
  
"Stand back," he said two seconds later, and his voice had a tone of authority to it. "I'm gonna break the ice."   
  
"But won't you injure Knuckles?"   
  
"Not if he hasn't been frozen long, now, stand back!"   
  
Sonic leaped and came down spinning, the way he destroyed badniks. The ice shattered on impact like so much brittle glass, and clear fragments went flying like a frozen splash.   
  
Tails stepped forward and helped Sonic pull Knuckles free of the imprisoning ice. At first touch they both thought he was dead, but as his face left the ice he gasped, then began coughing hard. Sonic and Tails sank to their knees to support him. * * *   
  
I hadn't known pain like this was possible. My head ached and my lungs felt cramped as I gasped air into them. My skin felt like it was about to peel off. My hands and feet were completely numb. It was all I could do to sit up. I held my head and rocked back and forth, my breathing hard and fast.   
  
I knew it was Sonic and Tails, but somehow I didn't care. For the moment I couldn't think of what I held against them. They had pulled me out of the ice, and I was grateful. Well, at least until Sonic tugged me to my feet and said, "Walk around. C'mon, we hafta walk around and get you warm again." I heard him say to Tails, "He's gonna get hypothermia if he doesn't have it already. Help me hold him up." All I wanted to do was sit still and rest. I was so tired ...   
  
The two of them held my arms and began to move forward. I stumbled along with them, my numb feet aching as they encountered the ground. Oh, it was hard to move, and it hurt--   
  
  
  
"Let me stop," I pled. "I gotta rest ..."   
  
"No!" Sonic snapped in my face, his breath forming a cloud. "You can't stop! Keep moving!" I did, helplessly. Why did I ever leave the island? Stupid ...   
  
They walked me up and down the snowy road. Twice more I drunkenly begged them to stop, and they refused. My brain felt like it was full of cotton. I dimly knew I had to keep moving, but the animal side of me wanted to lay down and sleep. Living seemed too much of a struggle.   
  
The real agony started as my blood got flowing again. Feeling returned to my feet first. I felt as if I were walking on hot coals. Moving became very uncomfortable. Finding my strength was returning and my head clearing, I shook off Sonic and Tails. "I can't walk anymore," I growled at them. "My feet hurt too bad."   
  
I beat my arms back and forth, trying to restore circulation to my numb hands and fingers. "Feel any better?" Tails asked me.   
  
"A little," I admitted grudgingly. Why was I feeling so sulky? There was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind, but I pushed it back. I didn't feel like thinking at the moment. Before I could stop myself, I looked at Sonic and said, "Thanks for saving me."   
  
He and Tails both seemed surprised, but returned with, "Your welcome."   
  
My gloves felt damp. I pulled them off and rubbed my hands together, then blew on them. I wasn't feeling nearly so bad now. I was almost warm. Now, what was that irritating thought at the back of my mind?   
  
It leaped forward into the active part of my brain. Dr. Robotnik! He wasn't here. Oh heck. And here was I, hanging out with Sonic and Tails. What should I do? My first reaction was, 'Run.'   
  
I guess the look on my face changed, because Sonic grabbed Tails's arm and backed away from me. He wasn't looking for trouble, I realize now, but I didn't then. I looked down the road, thinking of taking it down the mountain, but discarded the idea at once. Sonic could run much faster than I could. I turned and looked at the cave entrance. Ah, the south entrance! I had forgotten the transporter there. I could go straight down to Launch Base and they couldn't follow!   
  
I took off, stumbling over the rough snow toward the caves. * * *   
  
Tails hadn't seen the look in Knux's eyes as Sonic had. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" he shouted, and ran after him. "Tails, no!" Sonic yelled and took off after him. If he leads him into the cave he'll kill him, Sonic was thinking. He didn't know that Knuckles was planning to escape.   
  
Knux pounded into down the large hall and skidded into the huge room at the far end. Where-is-it-where-is-it-Ah ha-here-it-is- He ran to a large round door that looked like the door to a vault, twisted the knob and swung it open. There was the hiss of escaping air as the pressure inside was released. Knuckles was in a hurry. He jumped inside just as Tails reached the room. The young fox lunged and caught the door to keep it from closing. Then he peered inside.   
  
It was a tiny room, the size and shape of the door. The wall opposite it was the opening to a large pipe. It had bands of light at intervals all the way down it as far as Tails could see. Knuckles was standing next to it, adjusting some of the knobs and dials that were mounted on the wall next to it. He glanced at Tails, then twisted a knob all the way to the right. It was marked 'speed.' The pipe began to whistle as it sucked air into it. Knuckles stepped into it, curled into a ball, and was whisked out of sight.   
  
The door slowly, irresistibly, drawn by the suction of the pipe, began to swing shut. Tails fought it, but it continued to move in spite of him. Suddenly someone shoved him into the room and jumped in himself. It was Sonic. The door closed with a clang that had an air of finality to it. They both stared at it, then Sonic looked around. "Where's Knuckles?"   
  
Tails replied, "He went into the pipe."   
  
Sonic turned and looked into it, observing the lighted rings and the sucking air. He flashed a grin at Tails. "This ain't no ordinary pipe. It's a transport tube. C'mon, let's see where Knux went."   
  
Sonic spin-dashed into the pipe. Tails followed. There was a hum of engines and a whoosh of air, and the pipe came on full throttle, air-blasting them through. It was a little scary, for neither of them had a clue as to where they were going. The tube went down for a long ways, not dropping vertically, but in a steep decline. Then it leveled out and went horizontally for quite a distance. Their speed was something around a hundred miles per hour, so the whole thing took around fifteen minutes. Then it hurled them up and up to the surface.   
Chapter 6   
Launch Base  
_______________________________________________________________________   
  
The warm cement vibrated around the flat circular door in the ground. A big vent beside it was roaring, expelling air like a reversed vacuum cleaner. After a few more seconds, the manhole-like door snapped open, revealing a deep, dark hole beneath it. The roar of the vent lessened as air escaped through the exit. Suddenly the two figures, one after the other, shot up out of it, propelled by the wind. They were curled into compact balls for protection.   
  
The little round door slapped shut. The two landed on it and bounced off. Sonic uncoiled in midair and landed on his feet, but Tails uncurled too late and tumbled a couple feet. Unhurt but breathless, he jumped to his feet. Sonic was staring at his surroundings. "Wow," he said.   
  
The Ice Cap range towered up in the north, beautiful and distant. Their foothills and spurs were closer. In fact, the transporter vent was located on top of one of the hills. The mountains stretched north and south, as far as the eye could see. The valley floor spread out from there, running south and west.   
  
But to the west, situated like some monstrous spider, was a gigantic group of factories and towers. They could see the paved road that snaked down from the vent outlet to the industrial zone. The morning sun, shining hazily through the thick mare's tails, picked out other ribbons of asphalt entering the place.   
  
Sonic shaded his eyes for a better look, and Tails said, "What is that place, Sonic?"   
  
He shrugged and squinted. "It looks like a--a base, or a city or something."   
  
"You think Knuckles is anywhere around?"   
  
Sonic dropped his hand and looked around at the tawny hills. "Maybe, but I doubt it. He pry high-tailed it for that place down there."   
  
"Let's go there!"   
  
"You said it." * * *   
  
They had followed me, I was sure. That snoop Tails! Now they had found Launch Base, the one place Robotnik had warned me never to tell about.   
  
I jogged into one of the streets, showed my passcard to a sentry-bot, then went on. I had to warn Doc that they were here. What he would do to them I didn't want to think about. I also didn't want to think of what had just happened in the mountains. I was their enemy, and yet they had saved my life. It didn't make sense. And it burned my heart as I thought of more ways to hurt them. I couldn't squelch the memory, either; I was still freezing. The sun and muggy weather felt good, and running helped, too. But I shivered every time I passed through shadow.   
  
Abruptly the buildings fell away. Stretching into the distance was the black lake I had protested when I had brought the Death Egg here. I hardly looked twice at it, now. I didn't care about the enormous ship parked on the launch pad in the center, either. Where was Doc?   
  
My answer came as one of the ship's rockets fired up with a terrific screaming roar. Rocket test. He must be in the main control tower. It was only a block or two to my right. I headed toward it, distractedly noticing the huge cloud of white rocket smoke billow into the sky.   
  
A moment later I clanked up the steps to the control tower's door. I opened it and was met by a rush of cool air; the air-conditioner was on. I shivered and stepped inside.   
  
Doc was standing before the control console, reading printouts on the system status. He didn't look up when I came in, but said, "You're late." I was supposed to have met him at nine-thirty. I glanced at my watch, but it had 'frozen up'. "What time is it?" I panted.   
  
He frowned at me over his red mustache. "Ten after."   
  
I was forty minutes late. I gulped. Now was not the best time to give my bad news, but I knew I had to.   
  
Doc turned back around and watched the computer screens. I felt like I was freezing to death in the cool room and longed to step outside, but made myself hold still. "Uh, Doc ... I need to tell you something."   
  
"What?" he asked without turning.   
  
"It's bad news. Um ... Sonic and Tails followed me from Ice Cap."   
  
I cringed as Robotnik slowly turned to face me. "What did you say?" he asked slowly. I couldn't read his expression, so I repeated myself. To my surprise he only turned to face the computers again. After a moment of cold silence, he said, "I had not planned on this, but it doesn't matter. Launch Base has twice as many robots now, because of the evacuation of Ice Cap. Once Metal Sonic arrives we can shut off all power up there and concentrate it on the launching of Death Egg." He looked at me over his shoulder. "Use the badniks to hinder them as much as possible. Capture them if you can. If you can't and they head for the Death Egg (as I am certain they will), then let them go. I will deal with them myself."   
  
"You mean with that new gear I built for your hovercraft?"   
  
"Yes. And Knuckles, if you really want to impress me, set a trap and have them walk into it."   
  
"What kind of trap?"   
  
He pulled open a drawer, took out a small object and flipped it to me. It was about the size of an arubix cube with a keypad and liquid crystal screen. It was a combined bomb and detonator. I looked up at Robotnik. "Give me some instructions for this thing and I'll impress you."   
  
A moment later I stepped out of the tower into the warm sunshine, relieved I was still in one piece. I closed the door and leaned against it with a sigh. Doc could be very unpredictable sometimes. I had been sure he would kill me ...   
  
Something struck the inside of the door. I jumped away from it, startled. Robotnik roared in fury, "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"   
  
Very unpredictable. I fled. He might change his mind about killing me if he saw me again.   
  
* * *   
  
Sonic grabbed Tails's arm and yanked him off the street, into the shadow of a building. He pressed himself and the fox against the hard wall and held still as a pair of flame-thrower-toting cobras slithered by, red eyes searching for intruders.   
  
Tails went limp and closed his eyes. "Oh gosh, Sonic," he gasped. "I didn't even see them!"   
  
Sonic nodded, shaken. "I didn't, either. I heard 'em." He stuck his head around the corner and scanned the street. "All clear, now. Let's keep going."   
  
It was the second time they had hidden from dangerous robots. Sonic had made the mistake of destroying a couple, putting all the rest on red alert. Now the badniks were firing at everything that moved. The cobras were the most common. The natives of Launch Base were black with red trim, and the evacuees of the Ice Caves were white with blue markings. The white ones were sharper and faster than their black counterparts, being made for dealing with machine-freezing cold. The problem was Launch Base was swarming with them.   
  
Sonic and Tails had spotted Death Egg in the center of the base and had heard the rocket fire. And, as Robotnik had anticipated, they were heading out to see it. "We may not be able to stop its liftoff," Sonic had said optimistically, "but we can stow away inside and cause trouble from there, like I did before."   
  
Getting through the streets of the factory/city was more of a chore. Robots stalked all angles constantly, and several times the two found themselves fleeing before an alerted squadron. If he could get Tails to safety, often Sonic would turn and battle the robots for the sake of showing off his superior speed. (They didn't know it at the time, but this turned out to be good training for Robotropolis in years to come.)   
  
At last they made it out to the black lake. It was criss-crossed with fuel pipes, cables and high-voltage wires, all of which were suspended several feet above the water. Sonic and Tails, seeing the danger of it, joyously began to hike along the pipes, scorning the bridges, to get to the launch pad.   
  
Before long they hit a snag. The cement pipe they were on turned and went another way, instead of intersecting the next one. They stood there, looking across the ten feet of dark water at the other pipe. Neither wanted to brave the water, and both were reluctant to jump. Tails looked at Sonic. "Airlift?"   
  
Sonic nodded, hands on his hips. "Only way over," he began. Suddenly he turned, looking back toward the shoreline. Then he snapped, "Down! Robots!"   
  
They dropped flat on the pipe. Tails lifted only his eyes to see the shore, as if afraid any movement would give him away. Sonic did the same. Only five rods away were a group of badniks. Some were cobras, and others were floating security guards. They were all standing a short way out on one of the thickest pipes, but didn't seem to be patrolling. It was like they were all waiting for orders.   
  
"What're they doing?" Sonic whispered.   
  
Tails squinted. "Not much. Oh, wait! They've got a prisoner! He's all chained up, and he's got a great big metal bar strapped to one leg."   
  
"You mean, like, they're gonna take him swimming?"   
  
"Looks like it. He's scared."   
  
"What is he?"   
  
"I can't tell. He's wrapped from head to toe in chains."   
  
Sonic looked at his friend, smiled and slowly pulled out two chaos emeralds. Tails was horrified. "You're not gonna challenge 'em, are you?"   
  
Sonic focused his gaze on the robots. "Of course. They don't have any backup out here, and that guy probably didn't do anything wrong. Stay here, little bro. I'll be right back."   
  
He struck the emeralds together. His cool blue brightened to hot yellow, and his spikes stuck up on his back like someone had rubbed him the wrong way. His eyes became fierce. He gave Tails a thumbs-up, then quietly stepped off the pipe and skimmed across the dark lake toward the robots.   
  
The prisoner was standing still, heart in his mouth, staring down at the water. It would hurt to drown in that, but at least it would be fast. Robotnik had been too busy to devise a longer, more painful execution. If only his arms and legs weren't bound! Then he could show these robots a thing or two--   
  
One of the robots gave a warning shout, and the whole bunch was knocked over. The prisoner fell sideways onto the pipe and lay there, stunned. What was that? A star? A comet? It came around again, shooting through the air, plowing into the robots, throwing them into the water. As one of the cobras slid by the prisoner, it wrapped its metal tail around his leg, pulled itself upright and shot a flame-burst at the bright thing. The prisoner flinched as he felt the heat of the fire on his face. The bight thing didn't mind the attack. It kicked the cobra in the head, knocking it into the water. It retained its hold in the prisoner's leg, and its weight began to drag him off the pipe sideways. "Help!" he yelled, slipping and unable to stop himself.   
  
Sonic pounced on the prisoner, catching him just before he hit the poisoned water. He set him upright on top of the pipe, snapped the chain with super strength and unwound him. As he did he asked, "What are you? You don't have fur!"   
  
The creature sat up, jerked the heavy metal bar off his leg and let it fall into the water. It would have been the weight that sank him underwater. He looked at his rescuer. "I'm a chameleon, and my name's Espio. What the heck are you? A sunbeam?"   
  
Sonic shook his head. "Naw, I'm a hedgehog. I'm Sonic, but at the moment I'm Super Sonic."   
  
Espio and Sonic stood up and faced each other. Espio had smooth skin, a heavy brow and forehead, and a horn on his snout. His tail was long and skinny, as were his arms and legs. He wore a pair of faded white sneakers on his feet. He was surveying Sonic critically. "I can't glow, but I can turn yellow. Wanna see?" Without waiting for a reply, the lizard's skin turned a light yellow that matched Sonic's.   
  
Sonic smiled. "Cool!" He took two of the chaos emeralds and struck them together, decharging himself. His yellow faded into his normal dark blue.   
  
Espio did the same, his shade of blue matching Sonic's. "You're a wise guy, aren't you?" said Sonic. "What are you doing in Launch Base on the execution line?"   
  
Espio looked down. "Aw, I got caught. I got dared to sneak in here, and some robots spotted me." He looked up at Sonic. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Oh, I'm out for trouble, too. I crashed Death Egg once," Sonic jerked a thumb at the gigantic ship, "and I aim to do it again."   
  
"Alone?"   
  
"No, with my friend Tails." Sonic turned. "Hey, Tails, come over here! You gotta meet this guy!"   
  
Tails came flying over the water, tails a whirling blur above him. He landed beside Sonic and was introduced.   
  
Espio turned a light green--his default color--and said, "You two are taking on Robotnik all by yourselves? Man! You been anyplace cool?"   
  
"Oh yeah. We just got in from Ice Cap. It's way past cool, ha ha."   
  
"We spent all yesterday on the Floating Island," Tails added.   
  
Espio looked interested. "No kiddin'. You know, I've always wanted to go there and look around."   
  
"You ought to," Sonic said with a significant glance at Tails. "Just steer clear of its guardian. He's really territorial. Know what? He's not there right now, and the island is parked real close to shore. You check it out now."   
  
The chameleon's eyes opened wide. "Really? Oh, cool! Care if I leave now? I've always hoped I'd get a chance like this."   
  
"Sure, go ahead."   
  
The lizard whirled and ran for the shore. Sonic watched him go. "Hoo boy, I just gave him permission to go one someone else's property. Knux'll hate me."   
  
"He already does."   
  
"Ya got a point there. Oh well. He can't hurt an island, I guess. C'mon, let's keep going." * * *   
  
I watched the whole confrontation through binoculars. The execution of the chameleon hadn't been my idea, but Sonic and Tails had gone out of their way to stop it. "Just like they went out of their way to help YOU," my conscience said. I muffled the voice and shoved it to the back of my mind. I didn't need any feelings of guilt messing up what I was about to do.   
  
I had the detonator set on fifty seconds. I figured that would give me enough time to plant the charge and get to safety. (You can cover a lot of ground in fifty seconds.) I didn't think about what it would do to Sonic and Tails. All I thought about was how cool the explosion would look.   
  
I slid off the pumping station roof I had been standing on and ran for the bridge. If I hurried, I could beat them there. * * *   
  
The Death Egg had three tall towers around it to steady it and help it launch straight up. The launch pad was a gigantic metal grid- platform with three levels. The pipes that crossed the lake fed into huge pumping and holding stations beneath it. Security cameras covered the whole area.   
  
Sonic and Tails climbed up onto the first level and walked around, examining the machinery. They didn't notice the figure on the floor below as he followed them, watching them through the grating floor. * * *   
  
The two were talking idly, but I gathered that they wanted to board the ship. Jerks. They wouldn't find any boarding stations down here, I knew. But my problem was that I didn't know where they would go next. I didn't know where to plant the explosive. See, I had no idea how large an explosion it would make. I never would have considered planting it on the launch pad, otherwise ...   
  
I was nearly below them, and could hear every word they said. Tails said, "You think Slasher can get that weird writing translated?"   
  
Sonic replied, "I donno. We can ask her when she picks us up, later. Too bad that mural was destroyed--it was a whole story."   
  
I pricked up my ears. Mural? What mural with weird writing? Did they mean the one in Marble Gardens? The one that one of the first Guardians had made? And it was DESTROYED?!?   
  
My hands knotted into fists. This was the last straw. I was going to FEED that detonator to Sonic, if I had to. In my mind I twisted what he had said. He had really said 'the mural was destroyed.' I made myself believe he had said, 'we destroyed the mural.' It was the first time I had succeeded in making myself stupider than I really was. And it would not be the last.   
  
As I made my way up onto the top level, the old, quiet rage returned. The one that had been born in Hydrocity as I chased them down the water duct. My lust for revenge consumed all reason ... * * *   
  
Sonic and Tails were examining the base of one of the towers, wondering if they could climb it, when they heard footsteps clanking across the walkway toward them. They turned. "Don't look now," Tails muttered, "but here comes our favorite person."   
  
Knuckles talked toward them, stifflegged, like a dog about to attack. His eyes were dark and burning dangerously. Sonic, remembering what Slasher had said about fighting, slowly backed away. Knux stopped ten feet from them and lifted a small black object in one hand. "Remember when I said I was going to get you back for scaring me, Sonic?" he leered. "Here it is." He lowered it, pressed the 'execute' button, then flung it at Sonic. Sonic caught it as Knux said, "I'm outta here," and fled.   
  
Sonic stared down at the ticking numbers a moment. Suddenly he realized what he was holding. "Tails, it's a bomb!" he cried. "Run! Get off the launch pad!"   
  
Tails took off in one direction, Sonic in another. Tails skidded to a stop and yelled, "What are you doing?"   
  
Without slowing, Sonic yelled back, "Gonna throw it in the water! Now RUN!!!"   
  
Sonic neared the edge of the pad. The bomb was like a hot coal in his hands. He wanted to throw it down and run, run, run, but he couldn't. If it went off in the open, it would kill him, Tails and Knuckles-- not to mention blow up Death Egg, which would destroy Launch Base, which would wipe out miles and miles of surrounding countryside. If it went off in the lake, its shock would be somewhat buffered.   
  
He saw the water, dark and still under the grey, overcast sky. He jogged to a stop and flung the bomb out with all his might. It sailed out fifty feet and splashed into the water. He whirled and pelted after Tails, who was far off, under Death Egg's underside. * * *   
  
What happened next was total confusion to Sonic and Tails, but, as I was at a safe distance by then, I saw everything.   
  
The bomb went off underwater, muting its shock. But instead of a big splash, I was startled to see a jet of flame roar up out of the water and spread across the surface. With horror I realized that so many chemicals had been spilled into the water, it was more chemical than lake. The surface bore flammable fumes, which were now lit and burning like a torch.   
  
I was perched on a half-sunken abandoned lookout tower. It only stood twenty feet above the weirdly flaming water, so when the fire encircled the cement base, I knew I was trapped. I crouched down, close to the top of the tower, and found a small breathing space. I sat there in a cool island of air, looking across the lake of fire. Oh well, I would be stuck for a while. I had no way of contacting Doc, but supposed the badniks would handle the fire. I wasn't worried.   
  
Well, I wasn't until I saw Death Egg's rockets fire and stabilize one by one. I clapped my hands to my ears; the roar was deafening.   
  
As the rockets warmed up, they began to vibrate the ground. I felt the tower begin to rock slightly. I tried to balance it with my weight, and that worked for a few minutes. But it wasn't long before the rockets were going full throttle. Death Egg began to rise. The ground (and the tower, I might add) began to shake badly. The tower swayed back and forth, its eroded underwater supports cracking. I tried desperately to keep my balance, knowing that if I fell into the burning water it would be curtains.   
  
The tower snapped like a matchstick. I rode it as it toppled toward the fire, terrified. Just as it was about to hit, I leaped off and glided. The rising heat creating an updraft, and I rode it with my heart in my mouth. Gosh, if I had hit the water--   
  
I headed for shore. My first trap had failed and nearly backfired. I needed time to think of more. I was going home. * * *   
  
Death Egg roared skyward, away from the orange, smoking lake below. Sonic and Tails had leaped on a retracted landing platform at the last minute. It was a big flat sheet of metal that was pulled almost flat to the underside of the ship. There was a two-foot wide space between it and Death Egg's ugly outer hull, and Sonic and Tails had crawled into it. They were lying flat on their bellies, peeking over the edge at the retreating ground, hands clasped around their ears.   
  
The noise was so intense neither could make themselves heard, so they rode in silence. Once Sonic touched Tails's arm and pointed to a big pipe that ran across the siding above them. A few feet away, it had a big hole broken in it, as if it had hit something during the launch. A clear fluid was pouring out of it. It looked like a broken sprinkler. "Gas," Sonic mouthed to Tails. They didn't know it was one of the main fuel lines, or that all the fuel in the ship could leak out through it.   
  
Death Egg rose into the air until it was level with the tops of the tops of the Ice Cap range, in the distance. Then it began flying southward, toward the ocean.   
  
They were just starting to pass over the low coastal mountains when the platform they were on parted and began to extend, lowered by the four support rods in the corners. Sonic and Tails looked at each other uneasily.   
  
The platform lowered twenty feet and stopped. Death Egg spread out above them like a roof, the booster rockets still roaring. Sonic and Tails stood up, still holding their ears against the noise. The motion of the ship made it difficult to keep their balance, so they stood in the center of the platform to keep from being knocked off.   
  
The rockets began toning down to an idle; enough to keep the big ship afloat and drifting, but not travelling. Sonic looked back. Launch Base was still in sight. There was no reason to stop now. He looked at Tails as they came to the same conclusion; Robotnik was on to them.   
  
Suddenly the openness of the platform seemed threatening. There was nowhere to hide, nothing to use as a shield against danger. They were trapped 5000 feet above the ground.   
  
Tails grabbed Sonic's arm and pointed. Far off along Death Egg's underside, two big bay doors were opening. They hung wide for a few tense seconds. Then Robotnik's little utility ship dove out. It was decked out in bright red armor, and two gigantic arms with hands extended out in front. A low crown of metal spikes encircled the windshield. Shorter spikes studded the armor around the engines. It swooped toward them, hands outstretched.   
  
"Uh oh," Sonic said to Tails, able to speak over the subdued rumble of the rockets. "I don't like the looks of this one. Steer clear of it until I can test its defences." Tails, already scared of the ship, agreed and backed into a corner.   
  
Robotnik charged at Sonic, aiming the hands at him. Sonic sidestepped at the last instant, letting the ship go by. It was fast and heavily armored. The style was different, too ... as if Robotnik hadn't designed it. Sonic examined it as it went by again. Yes, it had a laser cannon, but that wasn't the main weapon. The main weapon were the hands; the huge metal hands that slowly flexed as the ship moved. What would they do?   
  
"See any weaknesses?" Sonic shouted to Tails.   
  
The fox shook his head nervously. "Be careful--it looks evil!" Tails had noticed the different craftsmanship as well.   
  
This time, when the ship passed by and turned around, it slowed down. It flew over the platform, the hands turned toward Sonic, forcing him back. But, as the platform was only twenty feet square, Sonic didn't have very much room to maneuver. He stopped and stood still, letting the ship get very close. When the clutching hands were only inches away, Sonic leaped over them, landed on an arm on all fours, then jumped off the other side. As he did, he noticed a weakness.   
  
The arms were so heavy they had to be balanced equally for the little hovercraft to carry them. With his added weight, the ship listed to one side dangerously, balance overthrown. As it headed out and turned for another flyby, Sonic called to Tails, "The arms are too much for it! If we jump on one, it'll blow the engines! C'mon!"   
  
Tails stepped reluctantly into the open as the boss returned.   
  
Robotnik was no fool. He could see Sonic had found his ship's Achilles's Heel. He decided a change of action was necessary to keep Sonic on his toes.   
  
Sonic and Tails were split up, ready to attack when the ship passed between them. But this time, as the ship swept by, it swerved and drifted left, putting itself between Sonic and Tails. To Sonic's surprise and horror, the hands were not facing him--they were aimed at Tails.   
  
Sonic couldn't see Tails with the bulk of the boss between them, but he heard his friend cry out when the hands closed on him. The ship turned. Sonic was aware of Robotnik's triumphant sneer, but his attention was focused on Tails.   
  
The fox was pinched between the metal hands with only his head visible. As the ship began to move upward, he cried, "Sonic, don't let him take me! He'll kill me! Help!"   
  
A deadly fear washed over Sonic. He ran forward and leaped at the ship, but it was already too high. He stood below and watched helplessly as the ship carried Tails out over empty space and hovered. Tails, beginning to choke in the tight grip, gasped, "Sonic, he's gonna drop me!"   
  
Before Sonic could react, the hands opened. Tails let out a shriek as he fell. But fortunately--or unfortunately--he only fell a couple feet. The ship's laser cannon fired a single blast. It caught Tails in the upper body and sent him flying back onto the platform. He rolled to a stop and lay still, gasping. Sonic bounded over to him and fell to his knees. "Tails!"   
  
The fox opened his eyes fearfully. "Am I dead?"   
  
"No. Where did he shoot you at?"   
  
Tails pulled himself to a sitting position and looked down. Stunned, he as of yet felt no pain, but saw the blood. The blast had caught him squarely in the right shoulder. Red was seeping from the wound and running down his chest and arm.   
  
Tails gulped and looked up at Sonic. "Whup his tail for me, will you? This is gonna start hurting in a minute."   
  
Sonic stood up, eyes locked on his hurt friend. Slowly he turned to face Robotnik, who was floating in one place, watching. The hedgehog's head went down and his body stiffened. "That was too much," he growled. Deliberately he pulled out two chaos emeralds, held them out so his enemy could see them, then struck them together. His blue flushed to a hot yellow. He took two running steps and leaped out onto Robotnik's ship.   
  
His feet planted firmly on either arm, he pressed his electrified hands against the ship's metal hull and glared through the windshield at Robotnik. The two regarded each other with cold hatred. At the moment, Sonic's hatred far surpassed Robotnik's; Sonic had behind him an injured companion.   
  
The power of the chaos emeralds flooded freely into the ship, frying the engines and machinery. The ship began to falter and jerk, but Sonic stood firm, fury making him reckless. He didn't move until one of the arms sparked and split in half, plummeting toward the distant ground. Then he jumped back to the platform and stood over Tails, watching as Robotnik retreated.   
  
Suddenly Tails said, "Sonic, shut off the emeralds! You're frying the platform!" It was true. His energy was flowing through his feet, into the platform and up the support poles. The machinery the poles connected to were sparking and smoking. Sonic hurriedly decharged himself, but not before one of the poles pulled free with a grinding of metal. One corner sagged.   
  
Tails looked at Sonic, frightened. "What do we do?"   
  
Sonic looked around wildly, beginning to panic. "I--I donno, we can't jump--"   
  
"Sonic, our whistles! Blow the five signal--Slash said that's the emergency signal!"   
  
The whistle was already in Sonic's mouth. He blew it five times as hard as he could, hoping it would carry over the noise of the rockets. Then he dropped it back to its place on the string, looked at his friend and waited.   
  
There it was! Slasher's counter-signal, a high-pitched scream. She had heard and was on her way. Sonic peered over the edge. To his surprise, they were no longer over the mainland--the indigo ocean spread out below. Almost directly beneath was the Floating Island. Slasher was a winged dot, rising in large circles like a pigeon.   
  
Suddenly the huge rockets sputtered. Sonic looked back at them. Tails lifted his good arm and pointed to the ruptured fuel line, which had been leaking this whole while. Death Egg was running out of gas. Sonic looked back down, cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Hurry, Slasher!"   
  
One of the other support rods jerked and pulled free. The platform sagged downward sharply. Sonic fell to his hands and knees and crawled back to Tails. He held his friend to keep him from sliding down the slanted platform. He could see the broad ocean over his shoulder. He felt the platform sway. The remaining support poles were not strong enough to hold them up and would snap very soon.   
  
Another jolt. The two of them slid downward a few inches. Tails had his eyes closed and teeth clenched--Sonic didn't know if it were from pain or fear--probably both. "Hurry, Slasher," he whispered, half afraid a loud word would bring it all down.   
  
"Sonic!" The wind created by Slasher's wings fanned his face. She was hovering in place, jaws wide and gasping for breath. He looked up at her helplessly, afraid to move. She dove forward, grabbed him by the arm and swung him onto her back. Seeing Tails bleeding, she grabbed him up in her arms and held him against her chest. Then she dove sideways, away from the platform.   
  
The velociraptor went into a steep spiraling dive, retreating from the Death Egg. Sonic crouched low against her neck, watching the Floating Island grow below. Behind, Death Egg's rockets spluttered again, dying, then reviving. How long it would stay afloat was a mystery ...   
Chapter 7  
Mushroom Hill  
_______________________________________________________________________   
  
"Well Tails," said Slasher cheerfully, "looks like you aren't hurt as bad as I'd first thought."   
  
They were all sitting under a spreading oak tree. It was near noon, but the sky was dim and overcast; the forecasted storm was approaching. True to her word, Slasher had brought them to Mushroom Hill. It was warm and muggy, and a fine mist hung in the hollows and dips in the ground. Gigantic mushrooms and fungi grew everywhere--the tree they sat beneath had stair-step-like growths all the way up it's trunk.   
  
Slasher had a first-aid kit open on the ground, and was just finishing up the bandage on Tails's shoulder and upper arm. The fox was weary from the pain and stress. He was leaning against the tree, eyes closed. Sonic sat a few feet away, knees drawn up to his chest and chin resting on them, miserable. He was suffering along with his sidekick in silence. The big velociraptor noticed him. "Don't look so gloomy, Sonic. Tails'll be fine. It's just a scratch, really. It'll be gone in a week or two."   
  
Tails looked up at Slasher, then carefully touched the bandage. "It will?" he asked doubtfully.   
  
Slasher nodded. "Yes. It will be sore for a while, and I wouldn't recommend an airlift anytime soon, but it will heal quickly. I've seen worse, you know." She closed the first-aid kit and stood up. "You guys feel like lunch yet?"   
  
Tails sat up and nodded vigorously. Sonic said, "Why, do I look like it?"   
  
Slasher stepped away, reached behind the tree and lifted a plastic bag with two sandwiches in it. She opened it and handed them out. Sonic and Tails dug in without a word.   
  
Slasher watched them for a moment, then said, "Gee, you two are about as cheerful as half a mile of bad road. Lighten up. Robotnik won't get far with a ruptured fuel line. Don't be such pessimists."   
  
Tails looked up innocently and asked, "What's a pessimist?"   
  
"The opposite of an optimist."   
  
"Well, what's that?"   
  
Slasher winked at Sonic and sat down between them. "Let me tell you a story that explains the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. An optimist bought a hunting dog, and was told it could walk on water. So he went hunting with his pessimist friend. He shot a duck, and it fell into the middle of a lake. He told the dog to go get it. Sure enough, the dog walked to the water, sniffed, and walked across the top of the lake to get the duck. The optimist was amazed, but the pessimist didn't say anything. Again the optimist shot a duck into the lake, and again the dog walked across the water to get it. Not wanting to brag, the optimist said nothing to his friend until they were in the car, driving home. Then he looked at him and said, 'Notice anything unusual about my dog?' 'Yeah,' the pessimist replied. 'He can't swim.'"   
  
Sonic and Tails groaned appreciatively. "Where do you hear this stuff?" Sonic said.   
  
Slasher shrugged, her green eyes twinkling. "Oh, just around. I always thought it was a good illustration."   
  
As the hedgehog and fox finished their lunch, there was a distant rumble of thunder, so low it was barely audible. Slasher reared up and scanned the sky. "We're in for a storm," she remarked, "just like I thought." There was a brief silence.   
  
Sonic broke it with a question. "Hey Slash, make any headway with that weird language?"   
  
She shook her narrow head. "Not yet. It's very old, and the dialect seems unknown. Give me another day or two--I'm sure I can find some translated manuscripts, somewhere."   
  
Suddenly the big velociraptor turned away from them and lifted her head high, sniffing at the faint breeze. Sonic and Tails watched her. A moment later she shifted her wings against her sides and said, "Knuckles is nearby."   
  
The two jumped to their feet and moved up beside her. "Where?"   
  
"Upwind somewhere. C'mon, you two, and try not to make any noise." She glided away into the scattered trees, and Sonic and Tails followed.   
  
Slasher led them to the edge of a dry ravine, where she dropped down behind a stand of tall mushrooms. Sonic and Tails joined her and peered through the thick, soft stalks.   
  
The ravine was about ten feet wide and five feet deep; little more than a creek. As they watched, a section of the dirt wall across from them swung outward, revealing a cleanly-cut doorway in the bank. Knuckles stuck his head out and cautiously scanned the area. His gaze swept their hiding place--then he stared at them. But, as they didn't move, he decided it was only the shadows of the mushrooms and stepped outside. Behind him, in the little cave, shown a queer, unnatural flickering light. He looked back at it, glanced around again uneasily, then pushed the door shut and took off down the ravine.   
  
The three watched him until he was out of sight. Then they looked at each other, curiosity burning.   
  
The door closed with an airtight seal in case there was water in the creek. It opened easily at Sonic's tug--it was apparently used often. It swung outward silently, revealing a short earthen passage beyond. The strange light was burning in a room at the end. The three made their way in, noticing the walls were beaded with moisture. Then they stepped into the room.   
  
"Oh wow," Tails breathed.   
  
It was a teleporter like the ones they had seen before, but was a brilliant snow-white. Its center was filled with a sparkling gold force-field. The three looked at each other questioningly. "What's wrong with it?" Sonic asked Slasher.   
  
She shook her narrow head. "Wrong? I don't know--it's a different color." The velociraptor carefully stepped around the glowing ring, examining it. "Hmm. It looks the same. It might just teleport you to a different place. You already have all the chaos emeralds, right?"   
  
"Well, yeah."   
  
"Why don't you two enter it and see where it takes you? I'll stay here and stand guard in case Knux comes back."   
  
Sonic looked at Tails and lifted his eyebrows. "You want to?"   
  
Tails smiled. "First time we saw these things you didn't even stop to ask. Sure, I'm game if you are."   
  
Sonic, realizing how timid he was being, grabbed Tails's good hand. "C'mon, then. So long, Slash." And then, practically dragging Tails behind him, he leaped through the center of the white ring.   
  
They were surrounded by the bright yellow light as it travelled at warp speed, gathering up its power, funneling it somewhere. It was like flying through a dream, or being inside the sun--   
  
Their feet touched down. The light seemed to drain down on top of them like pouring sand. The brilliant gold turned green, then faded away, leaving their surroundings firm and solid. Slightly dazzled, they stood still and looked around.   
  
It was a great underground cavern. The ceiling vaulted up hundreds of feet to become lost in darkness. Everything--walls, floor and distant ceiling--was black basalt. They stood on a sort of marble deck, which was built over a section of the rough, jagged volcanic rock on the floor. The air was cool compared to Mushroom Hill, and slightly musty. It was completely silent, and even their breathing seemed noisy. Light came from several different crystals that speared up here and there. They either had light inside them or behind them; at any rate, they were coolly incandesent, lighting the cave with a sort of blue brilliance.   
  
The green marble platform was raised two feet off the ground. It was unfinished at one end, as if meant to fill the whole cavern. The top was polished smooth as glass. For the first time, Sonic and Tails looked down and realized they were standing on a gigantic crystal receiver lens. Whatever this place was, teleporters seemed to be the means of reaching it.   
  
As they stepped off it, Sonic pointed across the the room and murmured, "Tails, lookit those!" Thirty feet away, built into the marble floor, was a collection of crystal pedestals. They walked over on tiptoe, for it felt as if the cave was watching them.   
  
There were eight pedestals altogether. The biggest one was in the center, and the seven others were arranged in a circle around it. But the seven were empty, their indented triangular tops vacant. Each pillar was made of a different color of rock or crystal, and intricately engraved with the strange writing.   
  
The central pillar held their attention. It was three times as large as the others, and held up by clear crystal supports. Its sides were covered with writing and a few abstract pictures. And on the top, embedded firmly in a bed of sharp green seed crystals, was the Master emerald. It was a deep sea green, cut skillfully and four feet across. It glowed softly from its heavy depths, pulsing faintly.   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other and breathed, "Whoa ..." It WAS an impressive sight, to say the least. Sonic stepped away from it and turned in a circle, scanning the dim room. A light was dawning on his face. "I know where we are," he said, knowing Tails knew but needing to say it aloud. "This is Knuckles's Hidden Palace. That's the Master emerald, and he's its Guardian." He whirled to face Tails. "This is bad news, little bro. He might have told Robotnik where it is, already. If so, then it's just a matter of time until it's stolen and the island wrecked."   
  
"But what if he hasn't?"   
  
"Then he will."   
  
"But what can we do? He's not gonna listen to us if we try to warn him."   
  
"Then let's go for the kingpin--Robotnik. We can hinder him, at least."   
  
"About as much as before, which has been zip."   
  
"Don't be a pessimist. His favorite pastime is attacking us with his boss ships. If we go on the offensive, then maybe he'll be too busy."   
  
"That means we'll be busy, too. He might just send in that robot Sonic to get it for him."   
  
A shadow passed over Sonic's face. Uneasily he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ya got a point there." He walked back to the Master emerald's pedestal and stood over it, absently gazing into its green depths. For some reason, he slowly lifted his hand, and very slowly brought it down on the Master's smooth top.   
  
There was a flash of light, and a thunderclap shook the cavern, knocking rocks from the ceiling. Tails was flung to the floor like a rag doll, and lay with his arms over his eyes. Sonic, though startled, remained unaffected. He had jerked his hand away immediately, and was now standing perfectly still. A beam of light appeared around him, blinding him. He threw up one hand to shield his eyes, and instantly it faded. He looked up. The beam had risen and was illuminating a group of floating, gleaming objects; the chaos emeralds. It had dragged them away from him. They were in a tight circle and rotating quickly. They had done the same before, when Robotnik had taken them without the balancing green. But all seven were here, and they would do something quite different.   
  
"Look, Tails, look!" Sonic shouted excitedly, eyes never leaving his precious emeralds. "I see," came Tails's faint reply. The emeralds shot upward, illuminating the shadowy ceiling with their light. They hovered for an instant, then evaporated into the beam surrounding them.   
  
A lightning bolt struck downward and hit one of the empty pedestals. When it disappeared, there was a grey, decharged super emerald in the holder. This process was repeated six more times, each pedestal suddenly bearing an emerald. Then the light vanished, and total silence resumed.   
  
Tails picked himself up off the floor. Sonic was frozen to the spot with his mouth open. Tails walked up to him, touched his hand uneasily and murmured, "What the heck was THAT?"   
  
Sonic slowly shook his head, eyes on the nearest dead emerald. "I donno. It took my emeralds and--and--" Words failed him.   
  
They moved forward, staring at the colorless super emeralds. Each one was one-third the Master emerald's size, or about 18 inches across. All were a dirty, ashy grey, without the bright glow. If they had not been so beautifully cut, one might have thought they were simply quartz crystals.   
  
"I'm afraid to touch one of them, after what just happened," Sonic whispered, the silence of the cave imposingly solid.   
  
"I know," Tails agreed. "Maybe we should go back."   
  
Sonic's eyes flashed. "Not without my emeralds. I lost 'em once, and I'm not about to let Knuckles or Robotnik get their hands on 'em. There's got to be a way to get 'em back." Contrary to what he had said only a moment before, Sonic extended a hand and touched a grey emerald.   
  
A whoosh of air, a flash of light! Tails threw up his arms to shield his eyes. The beam of light that had taken the chaos emeralds before was now surrounding Sonic again. He pulled his hands away from the super with an effort, as if it were difficult to move. Then he was yanked off the floor to hover two feet above the emerald. He couldn't struggle or move--all he could do was try to protect his eyes from the brilliance.   
  
The whiteness changed to a sort of blue bubble around him. Then a bolt of electricity, like a power arc between a powerline and a treebranch, formed between the bubble and the top of the super. Sonic yelled in pain. If was as if he were being stung by hundreds of wasps. He writhed and thrashed in the bubble in panic, but to no avail. The power arc grew brighter, and a faint light began to shine inside the emerald. The cavern resounded with a terrific buzzing ring.   
  
Tails watched all this in a helpless horror. He could do nothing but watch. He saw the glow in the super emerald increase the more Sonic fought. It was draining the hedgehog of his energy.   
  
After what seemed like an eternity (Sonic was too exhausted to struggle anymore), the arc vanished and the bubble faded out. The noise quieted, and Sonic was let down. He landed on top of the gently glowing emerald, but didn't have the strength to stand. He collapsed in a heap and closed his eyes. Tails ran to him. "Good grief, are you okay, Sonic?"   
  
He lifted his head and looked dully at Tails. "It tried to kill me," he groaned. "No, I'm not okay. I feel like I'm gonna barf."   
  
He did not. After a few minutes he felt his strength returning and was able to climb down off the emerald and pedestal. He was a bit frazzled, but aside from being a bit loopy, he was all right.   
  
It was a few minutes before they noticed the super emerald. It was green, like the Master emerald, and glowed softly. "Where'd its color come from?" Tail demanded.   
  
Sonic, a bit stoop-shouldered, said quietly, "It got it from me, the stupid thing. It took my energy and stuff and put it in the emerald. You couldn't get me to touch another one with a ten-foot pole. Let's get outta here."   
  
The glowing teleporter ring appeared and was hovering invitingly above the receiver dish. Sonic and Tails walked up to it, Sonic limping a little. As they reached the dish, the cavern vibrated. A faint rumble met their ears, coming from somewhere beyond the far wall of the cave. They turned and looked in that direction. The sound and slight shaking continued, making dust trickle down from the distant ceiling. "Wh-what's happening?" Tails ventured.   
  
"I donno," Sonic replied softly, afraid a loud word would bring the whole place down. "I hope it isn't anything critical--with the island, I mean. Let's get outta here. I don't feel like being buried alive after being fried like a moth on a bug zapper."   
  
* * *   
  
Slasher was standing in the hidden entrance, looking out, when they teleported in. She heard them beam down, but didn't turn. "Come here, guys," she said. "Quick, it's almost gone." They stepped up to her and followed her gaze.   
  
A great plume of dark smoke rose above the trees, dim and distant. It was slowly dissipating, fading into nothing. "What's on fire?" Tails asked.   
  
Slasher shook her head. "Nothing. Death Egg crashed on the island somewhere. I watched it go down. The smoke was from its engines."   
  
Sonic looked at Tails, inspiration brightening his eyes. "Hey, maybe that's what made the cave shake! We must have been close to where Death Egg crashed!"   
  
Slasher looked down at him. "Where did you two go--and WHAT happened to YOU?"   
  
"Hidden Palace," he replied matter-of-factly. "The Master emerald was there ..." He and Tails proceeded to recount their adventure.   
  
"Hmm," said Slasher, green eyes twinkling. "I thought you'd put your finger in an electric outlet."   
  
They stepped out into the ravine and were met by a sudden thunderclap. The sky was dark with stormy clouds, and a cool wind was beginning to stir. "It appears," Tails said, making his voice high and feminine, "that we are in for a small rainshower." He and Sonic exchanged snickers--he had done a fair impression of a snobby nature expert.   
  
"Small shower, ha," said Slasher. "Try big thunderstorm."   
  
"Maybe we should stay in the cave," Tails volunteered.   
  
"No," Sonic protested. "What if Knux comes back?"   
  
"I doubt it," Slasher replied, "but this ravine could flood and trap us. On my back, you two, and let's find some shelter."   
  
She crouched down and let Sonic and Tails climb up on her back. Then the big raptor leaped gracefully out of the ditch and into the trees.   
  
The clouds were so thick and heavy by this time that it looked like late evening instead of noon. Lightning split the sky repeatedly, followed by the accompanying rolls of thunder. Once in a while lightning would strike the island, announcing the fact with an ear- numbing crack.   
  
The three took refuge in the lee of a leaning rock. Tall, thick red-and-brown mushrooms grew all around it, some big enough to sit under. "We could use them as umbrellas," Sonic said, pointing at one.   
  
"Yeah," Tails said, "but they're too heavy to--"   
  
A bright flash and nature's percussion interrupted him. All three clapped their hands to their ears. Once it passed, Slasher said, "That was close. Must have hit a tree."   
  
"Or a big mushroom," Sonic quipped.   
  
They sat in silence a few minutes, watching the wind lash the trees into submission. Suddenly something like a snowball hit the ground a short distance away, shattering into fragments. Sonic and Tails looked at their friend questioningly. "Hail," Slasher said simply. "Glad we got that rock over us."   
  
Another hailstone struck the ground, and another. Soon they were raining down in an avalanche, hitting the ground and bouncing. Most were the size of golf balls, but some were as big as baseballs. One bounced into their shelter. Sonic picked it up. It was almost perfectly round and melted a little in his hands. Wordlessly Slasher took it from him and struck it against the ground. It split into two pieces. She lifted one. "Look, it has layers, like an onion."   
  
"Cool," Sonic said. "Can we eat it?"   
  
"If you want to."   
  
Tails grabbed the other piece and began to suck on it, as did Sonic.   
  
Rain began to slice down with the hail. The watched in silence as the lightning and thunder continued. The lightning in particular was fun to watch. It would start at one point, then branch out and ripple across the sky. "Nature provided the entertainment and the refreshments," Slasher remarked. Sonic and Tails only nodded, eyes on the world around them. * * *   
  
What a storm! I hadn't seen a thunderstorm this good in years. The only storm that had it beat was the hurricane I had been caught in a while back.   
  
The wind was making the island drift a bit, but I wasn't worried. As long as we weren't headed toward the mainland it was okay.   
  
I had found shelter under a stand of five-foot mushrooms. I didn't find out until later, but I was only about three hundred feet from where Sonic, Tails and their friend had holed up. I was a lot further from the ravine than they were, but I knew it had to be filling up. It was like a desert 'wadi', that is, a streambed that only gets water in it when it rains. I knew from experience it wasn't a safe place to be during a storm, which is why I hadn't stuck around the teleporter chamber.   
  
A gust of cold air struck me in the face, carrying the scent of rainwashed trees, earth and air. Ah yes, the Floating Island needed a good soaking. But no matter how hard it rained, nothing would ever grow in Sandopolis, the mini-desert of the Floating Island. Rain never seemed to make any difference to the sand ...   
  
A roar of water, like a tidal wave, interrupted my thoughts. I turned toward the ravine. Through the grey haze the rain created, I saw the crest of a wave as it swept down the cannel. Flash flood. It must be really pouring. I watched the brown water tear through the streambed, overlapping its banks and tearing at the surrounding brush.   
  
After a moment, a figure wandered into view. Instantly I thought it was Sonic or Tails. I reminded myself that they were on the Death Egg. (Or so I thought at the time.) The person just seemed to be poking along, oblivious to the rain and storm, following the stream-turned-river.   
  
Who was that? What was he doing on my island? I jumped to my feet, feeling peeved and territorial. I stepped out from under the mushrooms and felt the rain on my face and arms. Great, now I would get soaked. My anger rising like the tide, I shielded my face with one arm and jogged toward the figure.   
  
He didn't notice me at first, as his attention was focused on the water beside him. He was sort of a lizard with a long, skinny tail and a spike on his nose. He was the grey-green color of the rain. "Hey," I called over the noise of the storm.   
  
He jumped and looked at me, then brightened up--literally--into a hot neon orange. "Hi!" he said. He grabbed my hand and pumped it up and down. His hands were like ice. "I'm Espio. I'm lost. Can you help me?"   
  
He seemed so friendly and unguarded I felt the ferocity drain out of me. "Sure," I said. "C'mon, let's get out of the rain."   
  
He followed me back to the mushrooms and sat down beside me. Both of us were drenched and shivering. I flung my wet hair out of my face and looked at him. His orange had faded back into grey-green. I learned later it was the color he turned when he was cold and miserable. He wiped water out of his eyes and said, "Do you live here?"   
  
"In Mushroom Hill?"   
  
"Huh? No, I mean the Floating Island."   
  
I nodded.   
  
"Do you know--um--Knuckles?"   
  
"Sure." I'd let him talk without telling him who I was. Maybe he was a friend of Sonic's.   
  
He shivered and shook water off his arms. "I'd kinda like to meet him."   
  
"What for?"   
  
"To ask him if I could stay here."   
  
"How long?"   
  
"You know. Live here."   
  
That took me by surprise. "Live here? Why would you want to do that?"   
  
He looked down, sheepish. "Oh, not really for any reason, I guess. It's just so neat here. I like it here." He looked up at me hopefully. "Think he'd let me?"   
  
I pondered his request. If I let him stay, I'd have to SHARE my island. But the other half of me jumped at the chance. Sometimes it got really lonely out here all by myself. It might be nice to have someone to talk to for a change.   
  
"Well?" Espio pushed.   
  
I stalled. "I donno."   
  
"But he let YOU live here."   
  
Argh, he had me there. I must have looked cornered, because he looked at me funny and said, "You're Knuckles, aren't you?"   
  
I nodded slowly.   
  
To my surprise, the next thing out of his mouth was, "You have a pretty island."   
  
Flattery, but it tipped the scales. "You can stay," I told him.   
  
He threw back his head and laughed. "I compliment you, and you tell me I can stay." He shook my hand again. "I like you, Knux. Thanks." * * *   
  
The thunder and lightning had moved off, and the rain, although still coming down, was slacking off. The hail had ceased long ago. The clouds were thinning, letting the warm sun shine through.   
  
Sonic, Tails and Slasher came out of hiding. The storm hung in the north like a silver curtain, black clouds occasionally flickering with lightning. The sun picked out a rainbow in it, bright as butterfly wings. Above were two fainter echoes of its color. Slasher claimed she could see a third, but her eyes were sharper than her companions'.   
  
The water in the ravine was going down, they noticed. Branches and uprooted mushrooms littered the banks, water-logged and wilted. "Be glad we didn't stay down there," Slasher remarked. "I doubt we could get that door open." They stood and watched the swirling, dimpled water for a moment.   
  
Suddenly Slasher crouched a little and growled, "Uh oh. Listen. Hear that?"   
  
Sonic and Tails pricked up their ears and listened. After a moment they heard it. Over the sighing of the trees and the faint patter of the dying rain, came a hum. An engine's whine. "Robotnik," Tails said obviously. "His hovercraft." "And he's hauling," Sonic added. They stood motionless a moment longer, heads back, tracing the path of the sound.   
  
"Comin' straight at us," Slasher murmured. "Hide, quick. We can follow him." They wheeled and darted to the cover of the dripping trees. After a few seconds they saw the round craft zip by through the branches overhead. Slasher crouched and dropped her wings, eyes fixed on the retreating ship. Sonic and Tails quickly mounted her, then crouched low and gripped with their knees. They knew Slasher well. Her long claws dug into the thick sod, and she was off like a shot.   
  
Riding a dinosaur at a dead run wasn't all that different from flying. Slasher's gate was fluid and smooth, but was prone to swerving sharply in mid-stride. If her passengers didn't stay alert and tight, they'd be dumped at the first opportunity. Sonic and Tails moved with her, watching for the slight motion of her head that meant 'turn'.   
  
A sort of clearing appeared through the trees ahead. Robotnik's craft slowed, and so did Slasher. She jogged up to a big tree and peered around it, panting slightly. Sonic and Tails sat up and looked with her. To their surprise, the clearing had been made recently. Fallen trees and white stumps littered the area. Parked in the center was the craft responsible.   
  
It was a certain gigantic blimp. It was anchored to the ground by thick cables, floating about twenty feet from the ground. The gas-filled bag was at least 2500 feet in length, the box-like passenger's compartment half that. On the bottom of the compartment were several long robotic arms with saw-blades on the ends--clearly the cause of the fallen trees.   
  
"Tails," Sonic whispered, "That's the ship that tried to shoot us down yesterday!"   
  
"He doesn't work small, does he?" Slasher commented. "I think that one's called Flying Battery. It's kind of Wing Fortress number two."   
  
"What would he need another one for?" Tails asked, letting his eyes travel up the sleek violet sides of the zeppelin.   
  
"Think about it," Sonic said. "He wants to take over Mobius. He needs terrorist ships."   
  
Meanwhile, Robotnik's little ship had flown to an open doorway on the back section of the bottom compartment and was slowly maneuvering inside. "Bet he takes off," Slasher said. "You guys want to get in and see where he goes?"   
  
"Yeah," said Sonic, giving Tails a significant glance. "We decided we needed to go on the offensive."   
  
Slasher darted out of hiding and ran into the blimp's shadow. "Look," she said, pointing. "You can climb up that rope and get in through that hatch up there." She moved up to the thick cable, which was tied to a thick metal hook driven into the ground. "Head on up, guys, and be careful." Sonic and Tails slid off. "Good luck," she said to them. "Tails, no airlifts unless it's absolutely necessary. Sonic, you look out for him. I'll be on the island, so if you need me, whistle."   
  
The zeppelin's engines began to hum.   
  
"Go on up, and watch out for machinery."   
  
Sonic and Tails shimmied up the cable like a couple of squirrels. Slasher watched and waited as they reached the hatch far above, pried it open and crawled inside. They poked their heads out and looked down at her. She waved, and they waved back. Then the big velociraptor turned and bounded out of view. Sonic and Tails backed away from the opening and held on as the blimp, stowaways and all, unhooked and roared into the sky.  
Chapter 8  
Flying Battery  
________________________________________________________________________   
  
"Tails!"   
  
Sonic slammed sideways into his sidekick, flinging both of them to the ground. The hedgehog lay on top of the fox, shielding him with his body from the roaring exhaust vent overhead. They were not directly under the blast, but the heated, choking fumes still struck them.   
  
Fortunately for Sonic, the vent shut off after a moment or two. He sat up, releasing Tails, coughing from the depths of his lungs. Tails stood up, his feet clanking on the metal walkway. "Sonic," he said, tugging at his friend's arm, "we gotta get outta here. It'll come on again in a minute."   
  
They were a level above the cargo hold. A long, narrow walkway was suspended through half the starboard section, branching off into three other segments. The part they were on crossed a line of five-foot vents in the ceiling. The vent above the walkway had happened to kick in the moment the walked beneath it.   
  
With Tails's help, Sonic managed to drag himself out from under the vent. He collapsed against the cold steel railing, weak from coughing. Tails crouched beside him anxiously. "Are you okay, Sonic?" Sonic could only nod in reply. It took him a good ten minutes to quit choking and regain his strength. "I donno what this place uses for fuel," he said as he climbed to his feet, "but its fumes ain't healthy. About like breathing hairspray."   
  
"Sure you're okay?"   
  
"No. My lungs feel funny. Let's get off this stupid walkway."   
  
The interior of Flying Battery was an air-conditioned eighty degrees, but the air was far from fresh. It was stale and was tainted with foul exhaust. The entire ship vibrated faintly with the motion of the huge engines. There was no sensation of flight or moving forward, but only blue sky could be seen outside the windows.   
  
They spotted some steps leading up into the ceiling, but could not seem to reach them. Every time they neared them, they discovered the walkway below them was the one they needed to be on. Or the one across from them. Or above.   
  
The fifth time they did this, Sonic threw up his hands in frustration. "Forget this," he said. "Let's go back to where we started."   
  
"Easier said than done," Tails said, looking up at the steps longingly. "I'm so turned around now I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag."   
  
Sonic looked down at him, half annoyed and half amused. He tousled the fox's hair. "Me too, I think," he agreed. "Let's go back to the junction up there, and--"   
  
"Intruders! Halt!"   
  
Sonic and Tails jumped. There were two robots on the walkway above, peering down at them through the grating. Sonic smiled maliciously. "Gotta catch us first, tinheads."   
  
The robots, in reply, took off down the walkway, heading for the junction where their walkway joined Sonic and Tails's.   
  
Tails watched them. "Sonic, lookit how they move. They don't have hover units, but they kind of ... coast along ... "   
  
At the moment, Sonic could care less about how the badniks moved. The path they were on was a dead end, and the only way out was at the junction, thirty feet up the line. And the junction, at the moment, was blocked. The robots advanced cautiously toward them, side by side. "Get behind me," Sonic hissed to his companion. Tails obeyed.   
  
There was no cover on the walkway, and the floor-to-ceiling railing prevented escape. If the robots attacked, things could get bad. Sonic realized this in an instant. He decided it would be safer to carry the fight to the badniks.   
  
Wishing for the chaos emeralds, he darted up the walkway, his feet hardly touching it. The robots stopped and lifted their blasters, but they were too late. Sonic crashed into them, knocking them over backward. He was on them as they hit the metal walkway, literally tearing them apart. He held them there until they shut down, then climbed to his feet and dusted off his hands. An impressed Tails walked up to him.   
  
"Man," the fox said, "they never had a chance."   
  
"Yup," Sonic replied, throwing his head back, "I'm pretty good, all right."   
  
Tails crouched down, examining the robots' feet. He snickered, then laughed. "Sonic, look at what's on these bots!"   
  
Sonic looked down, then added his laughter to Tails's. "I THOUGHT they went down a bit too easily. Did Robotnik do that on purpose?"   
  
"Who knows what he'd do for a laugh?"   
  
"But rollerblades on sentry bots? That's--that's kinda dumb."   
  
"Really dumb! But funny, too."   
  
"Hey, do they come off? That'd be cool if we could wear 'em."   
  
Tails tugged at one of the skates. "Hey yeah, I think they do."   
  
"Here, undo the bindings. Like this."   
  
The two worked furiously, their fingers clumsy with excitement. At last both pairs were free. There were the adjustable kind, made for strapping to shoes. They were made of aluminum; for robots, of course, but very light.   
  
It took them a few minutes to figure out how to adjust the skates. Then they buckled them on with lightning speed. Sonic stood up and coasted a few feet. "Wow, these are really nice," he said to Tails, who was still tightening his. "Smooth as silk. Gosh, these could make a rookie into an expert 'blader in no time! Hurry up, little bro. I wanna get a move on."   
  
Tails stood up carefully, favoring his shoulder. He rolled up to Sonic, afraid of a fall. "They ARE nice," he admitted, looking down at his feet.   
  
Sonic whirled and faced the rest of the walkway. "Let's juice, Tails."   
  
Fifteen minutes later found them up the coveted stairs and deep in the bowels of the ship. They reached an engine room of sorts. Tails was all for going around, but Sonic recklessly plunged in, rollerblades and all.   
  
The engine compartments and machinery provided lots of obstacles. Sonic leaped, dodged and expertly wove his way through, while Tails slowed to a walk and fell several times. Sonic made it to the far side and waited for him. "Aw Tails, you're going too slow. Heck, you might as well take off the blades and walk."   
  
"Yeah, yeah," Tails replied as he reached the hedgehog. "I don't like obstacle courses. Give me a clear track and I'll give you a run for your money."   
  
"Well, better start running, 'cause we've got a track that looks pretty clear. Let's juice!"   
  
Several hallways bore the smoking traces of speeding rollerblades as Sonic and Tails literally burned rubber. They were coming up on what appeared to be another room just as Sonic hit sixty. He flew out into the room, only to discover a well-like hole beneath his feet. "Whoa!" he yelled, voice echoing. His momentum kept him flying forward. He twisted sideways, met the wall with his blades with a clack, and hurled downward.   
  
It seemed he had fallen for a long time by the time he reached the floor. The floor, however, was rounded, like a bowel. He went down the wall, across the floor, and back up the other side. He bladed around and around until he finally came to a stop, panting.   
  
Tails, who had been skating just as hard as his friend, had seen the hole, spun his tails and hovered, looking down. Now he floated down and landed beside Sonic. The blue hedgehog stared up at the distant ceiling. "Man, that was fun! Blades are the bomb!" He stooped and checked his bindings.   
  
Tails looked around, then froze. Sonic stood back up and noticed the look on his face. "Whassamatter, little bro?"   
  
"Shh," Tails hissed. "Listen. You hear that?"   
  
Sonic held his breath and listened. From somewhere below them came the sound of rushing water. The sound was drawing closer by the second. It seemed to be moving up the walls--   
  
Tails pointed to a spot twenty feet above their heads. Every five feet a panel had opened, revealing the openings to several pipes. A few seconds later, a clear liquid began to pour out. It looked like water, but smelled otherwise.   
  
"Rocket fuel!" Sonic yelped. "Tails, get us outta here!"   
  
The little fox spun his tails, leaped into the air and hovered. Sonic locked wrists with him, momentarily forgetting Tails's wound. Tails winced, but said nothing as he carried them upward, out of the liquid's reach. It was pouring in by the gallon and the smell was not pleasant.   
  
By the time they reached the doorway they had entered by, they were choking on the fumes. They landed in the passage and crawled inside, thankful for the fresh air. A metal door closed over the entry, shutting off the sound and smell.   
  
It took them a while to get over their nausea. They were both coughing, trying to rid their lungs of the noxious fumes. "Boy," Tails hacked, "now I know how you felt when you got hit with the exhaust. It was just out luck to be in a spare fuel compartment."   
  
Sonic drew a deep breath and said, "Either that or it was a trap." He climbed to his feet and coasted down the tunnel. He reached the room at the far end, which should have been the engine room. Tails heard him whistle loudly. "Tails, we're somewhere else!"   
  
Tails joined Sonic. Indeed, they were somehow in another passage. The thing before them was like an empty elevator shaft and housed a huge metal screw. It turned slowly, massively, transferring energy from the powerful dynamos below to the engine rooms above. Its metal surface had once been bright, but was now a dull grey. The hallway continued on the far side.   
  
Sonic squinted at the screw's threads, estimating how fast it was turning and its distance from the walls. Then, without a word, he sat down and took off his rollerblades. Tails guessed at what he was going to do, and removed his, as well. They slung them over their shoulders. "'Kay, Tails," Sonic said. "I'm gonna go first. Don't trip or anything. This is kinda like playing chicken on the railroad tracks." Tails nodded. He could imagine tripping and being screwed into the ceiling.   
  
Sonic crouched, eyes on the rotating steel threads. Then he shot away, leaped the shaft, touched the screw, then landed safely in the far hall. "C'mon, Tails!" he called.   
  
Tails ran, crossed both without trouble and joined his friend on the far side. "Well, that wasn't too bad," he panted.   
  
Sonic nodded. "Should we blade or walk?"   
  
"Uh, let's see what's in the next room first."   
  
They trotted down the corridor. They entered a small circular room with three doors in the walls. Automatically Sonic tried the doorknobs. All but one were locked. "Well Tails?"   
  
"Why don't we just open it and see what's behind it?"   
  
"Good idea." Sonic opened the door and stuck his head in for a look. Tails watched him as he suddenly went stiff, back arched, hands gripping the side of the door like a vice.   
  
"Sonic, whassamatter?"   
  
Tails's voice awakened him. He jerked backward, closed the door carefully, then leaned against it, eyes wide.   
  
Tails watched him uneasily. "What was in there?"   
  
Sonic moved only his lips. "Metal Sonic."   
  
"Metal Sonic? You mean that robot that freaked you out in Ice Cap this morning?"   
  
Sonic nodded. Abruptly he leaped away from the door and whirled to face it. "Get behind me, quick!" he commanded. Tails obeyed hurriedly.   
  
The door swung open. Framed in the doorway stood a steel-blue robot. It was the same size as Sonic, and looked remarkably like him. Its glass eyes were black, and had glowing red rings for pupils. Its lower arms were armed with sharp metal plates that came to a point in its elbows. It gazed at Sonic with a robotic indifference.   
  
"Who are you?" it asked. Its voice was low, metallic and sinister.   
  
"What do you want to know for?" Sonic questioned in reply.   
  
"So I can tell whether you are friend or foe." Metal Sonic was still relatively new to life, and had not yet become the twisted, hateful robot of later years.   
  
"Will you shoot me if I tell you?"   
  
"Perhaps. But only if you are an enemy of Dr. Robotnik."   
  
"But what if I'm YOUR enemy?"   
  
The robot hesitated. He did not yet have enemies of his own, and this was a new concept. "I suppose I would take you to Dr. Robotnik."   
  
Sonic was relaxing a bit. This robot was not a badnik, but a henchmen, who were usually safer and more predictable. A new one to the job, at that. Sonic drew himself to his full height. "I'll tell you my name if you'll tell me yours."   
  
"I am Metal Sonic, or Mecha, as some call me. And you are?"   
  
"I am Sonic the Hedgehog. The ORIGINAL."   
  
That was the wrong thing to say. Mecha hissed, "So, YOU are the hedgehog for which I am named! Prepare to die, Sssonic!" The robot drew a pistol from somewhere on his person. Before he could aim it, however, Sonic went into a spin and crashed into his midsection. Metal Sonic crashed to the floor, temporarily jarring his motion control.   
  
"Tails, get through that other door! Quick!" Sonic cried from where he was crouched over the robot.   
  
Tails leaped around Sonic and hit the other door. He pulled it open and ducked through it. Sonic followed a split second behind him. He slammed the door shut and snapped the electric lock on. "There," he remarked, "that should hold him off about five minutes."   
  
He sat down and thrust his feet into the rollerblades he had carried this whole time. "What are you doing?" Tails demanded.   
  
"Giving myself a reason to speed. Put yours on, if you like."   
  
After a moment of indecision, Tails too sat down and donned his gear.   
  
A moment later found them gliding down the hallway. The entire left side was open, and they could see rows and rows of robots in the making. They were only partly assembled, but looked rather fearsome with their huge limbs and heavy weaponry.   
  
"Military force, looks like," Sonic commented. "I'm glad they aren't on-line yet."   
  
Tails, skating a few feet behind the hedgehog, said, "Hey, Sonic, look. See that one, close to the walkway? It has something written on it."   
  
They coasted up to it. "SWAT-bot 1037," Sonic read aloud. "Well well."   
  
At that moment the once-locked door flew open. Metal Sonic stood in the doorway, eyes glowing like live coals. His thrown-back head and spread legs showed his anger. "You!" he shouted.   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Run."   
  
With a clatter of metal blades on metal floor they fled down the passage. Mecha gave chase, hoverjets lifting him a foot off the ground and propelling him forward. Sonic glanced back. "He's hot," he called to Tails. "See the door up there? Let me open it--don't you stop."   
  
The hedgehog surged ahead in a racing skater crouch. He didn't bother to slow down, but let himself smack into the wall, hand groping for the doorknob. It turned easily. He jerked it open, let Tails fly through, then leaped through himself. He pulled the door to behind him, and heard the satisfactory thud as Metal Sonic slammed into it. This door had no lock. Sonic turned away, ready to run again--   
  
Wait, this was no hallway. It was a large rectangular room. Something about it tingled in the back of his mind--a red flag waved. He had learned never to trust large empty rooms. Tails was about to cross it, looking back at him. Sonic sprang forward. "Tails, don't go in the center! Stop!"   
  
Too late. Three things happened almost at once. Mecha Sonic burst through the door, enraged and slightly dented. Second, two huge laser- screens came on behind and in front of Sonic and Tails, blocking them in. Third, all the lights went out.   
  
The fox and hedgehog stood in the center of the room-turned- prison, uneasy. The forcefields shed a lemon-colored light, gleaming on their roller blades. Metal Sonic stood on the other side of the screen, staring through at them. Tails slipped his hand into Sonic's. "What's gonna happen?"   
  
Sonic cast a glance up at the shadowy ceiling. "I donno. Stick close--he can't get us as long as the lasers are on." He returned his gaze to Metal Sonic.   
  
Abruptly the robot turned away, looking back at the door they had come through. Over the electronic hum of the force fields, Sonic and Tails heard the clanking of approaching footsteps. They heard who it was before they saw him.   
  
"Well well, it's Sonic and Tails, caught like little rats in a trap."   
  
Knuckles stepped into the room with a smirk. What caught their attention was the forcefield-like bubble that surrounded his body. Lightning flickered and danced over it, lighting his face and the area around him. "Small little rats," he continued witheringly, "with no hair and one leg."   
  
"Where do you get your material?" Sonic said, making a face.   
  
Knuckles gave him a plastic smile. "It IS a fitting analogy, don't you think? Neither of you are going anywhere anytime soon."   
  
His smile twisted into a sneer. "I assume you met our project?" He gestured to the robot beside him.   
  
Sonic and Tails stared. "You mean YOU built him?" Tails exclaimed.   
  
Knuckles nodded condescendingly, eyes half closed. "Me'n Doc. We finished him up and he's ready for service."   
  
The lightning curved, flickered and danced in a continuous rhythm. Sonic pointed at it. "What's with the special effects?"   
  
Knuckles sneered again. "You're so stupid. This is an electronic shield. It'll protect me from anything but water and open flame. I'm wearing it so I can do THIS." He stepped forward, and to their surprise, walked THROUGH the laser screen, shield parting the beams. "Don't try to touch me," he warned. "I'll zap you."   
  
They stood aside as he crossed the room, shield casting a dim light into the dimness. He passed through the force field on the far side. Then, with a sly glance in their direction, he swung open a panel on the wall to reveal a set of controls. * * *   
  
I really wanted to shut off the lasers, ditch the shield and have it out with Sonic right there, but I had my orders. Doc didn't want it done that way. He needed his newest invention tested. First he had asked me to try it on myself, and with horror I refused. I had looked at the schematics. No way was I going to sacrifice myself to a machine! So he told me to do it on Sonic and Tails. All I had to do was drive.   
  
I glanced through the screens at Metal Sonic, but he was gone. I felt a chill. I had heard nothing. For the first time I wondered if that robot might turn out a little too well. I shrugged it off and flipped the 'on' lever. If he didn't want to watch, that was fine. 

* * *

  
  
The entire ceiling split and slid apart with a whine of machinery. Sonic and Tails stared upward as a big milky white lens opened behind it. It was on a sort of track that could sling it in any direction in the laser room. It jolted a little as it was activated.   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other. Sonic was nervous, and Tails was downright scared. Neither said a word, for that would reveal their feelings to Knuckles. Slowly they coasted apart, skates ticking on the metal floor. The big lens began to move, following Sonic. In a way he was relieved. He could handle an attack--Tails couldn't.   
  
The lens began to blink. Probably a laser, Sonic thought. Just like in Wing Fortress, when next to the same thing had happened. He felt a small bit of relief. At least he knew what to expect ...   
  
Knuckles hit 'fire'. The lens froze, locked, then fired a huge blue beam. Sonic just barely dodged, and felt the intense heat of the laser. He was still up when it shut off. "Nah nah!" he jeered at Knuckles. "Missed me."   
  
Knux glared at him, disappointed. "We'll see about that," he snorted. He flipped a switch. The force field on one side flicked off, then on again--this time two feet closer.   
  
Tails looked at Sonic from his place by the wall. If Knuckles did that every time the laser fired, eventually they would both be hit. Sonic returned his gaze. "Don't worry, little bro," he said quietly. "We'll get out. Somehow."   
  
Four more times the laser fired, and each time it missed Sonic by an inch. Knuckles was getting frustrated. He had kept moving the force field in, but it hadn't done any good. Sonic could still dodge, even in the space of six by fifteen feet. The echidna moved the screen in one more notch. If he missed this time, then heck with it.   
  
Sonic and Tails could easily touch the force fields on either side. They stared up at the lens as if entranced, like a small animal waiting for a snake to strike. Sonic could only move forward or back-- he dared not touch the screens. The lens moved around, its metal parts clanking as it changed directions.   
  
Knuckles pressed 'fire'. The laser froze, locked and fired. Sonic leaped out from under it, but one blade caught on a ridge in the floor. He smacked down on his face and the beam caught him.   
  
"Sonic!" Tails screamed. The laser, instead of shutting off immediately, continued to fire, burning down into the floor. Knuckles stood and stared a second, his jaw hanging open. Suddenly he whirled and tripped the emergency breaker. "No," Tails heard him moan. "No no no! Not that--not even Sonic deserves that! Doc, you liar--"   
  
The beam flickered and went off, machinery whining in protest. Sonic was lying where he had fallen, eyes closed, floor scorched in a circle around him. Tails ran to him and fell to his knees. "Sonic, are you alive? Sonic? Speak to me, bro!"   
  
Sonic's eyelids fluttered open. Slowly he lifted his head and looked at his sidekick. "Tails," he said thickly, eyes dull with shock. He sat up and let his head droop, hands limp at his sides. Tails stared into his face worriedly. "Are you okay?"   
  
Sonic nodded a bit, as if it hurt to move. "I guess," he said flatly. "My head--" He lifted a hand to his forehead. Abruptly he jerked his hand back and stared at it, wide-eyed. He lifted his other hand, then opened and closed them together, horror etched across his face.   
  
"What?" Tails demanded. "What's wrong?"   
  
Sonic leaped to his feet without answering and stared at Knuckles. Knux looked back at him. "What? You're not hurt."   
  
"Knux," Sonic said, voice nearly a whisper. "What have you done to me? My hands--"   
  
"What about them?"   
  
Sonic stuck the tip of his middle finger in his mouth, bit the glove and pulled out his hand. Tails and Knuckles gasped as he held it up for them to see.   
  
It was a robot hand.   
  
Each finger and joint was encased in metal, wire just visible beneath. The plating followed the contours and folds of his hand. It reached to his wrist, where it had stopped. He yanked off his other glove. Both hands looked exactly the same.   
  
Sonic clenched his metallic fists. "Knuckles, you'd better not let me out. Now my hands are just as tough as yours." Knuckles could only stand and look at those robotic limbs. His mouth had fallen open, and he shook his head slowly as he backed away. "I didn't know it would do that," he gasped. "I--I--" * * * I could think of nothing more to say. Robotized! What if I had waited a second later to shut off the beam? I had looked at the wrong schematics. This was a robotizer prototype, stolen from a scientist in Mobitropolis and reverse-engineered. His hands ...! Oh gosh, what had I done? Was there any way to undo it?   
  
I punched a button on the wall. It would drain the power in the laser screens. Right now I didn't have the heart to leave them locked up. I fled through a side door, locked it behind me, then pelted deeper into Flying Battery. My mind was reeling. Disfigured for life! What was worse, I had thought it would simply stun him.   
  
I hung a hard left and headed for the bridge. I had a few questions for Doc. * * *   
  
The force fields blinked and went off, and the lights came back on. Sonic continued to stare at his hands. Experimentally he snapped his fingers, making a sharp 'tink'. He clapped his hands and listened with some amazement to the clang, clang, clang. He looked at Tails. "This IS kinda cool," he said grudgingly. "It's like wearing armor."   
  
Tails touched his shiny hand and shuddered. "Gee, Sonic. You're part robot now. Better not try to use the chaos emeralds."   
  
"You're right," Sonic exclaimed. "I won't be able to use 'em-- they'd blow my hands off or something. Aw man--" He glared in the direction Knuckles had gone. "That jerk. Bet he planned it."   
  
Carefully the hedgehog pulled his gloves back on. They covered the metal neatly--unless you knew, you could see nothing wrong with him.   
  
The two stepped out of the room into an adjoining hall. "I wonder where Metal Sonic is," Tails said nervously.   
  
Sonic shrugged. "On a ship this size, who knows. Let's see if we can--"   
  
Suddenly the hall around them groaned and squeaked. The floor beneath their feet shifted. They automatically turned to go back, but an iron door slammed to the floor, cutting off retreat. The two locked eyes. "Run," Sonic commanded. He took off, and Tails followed close behind. * * *   
  
I burst into the cockpit, my anger burning. The shock had passed--now I was mad I had been tricked into doing something so inhuman. Robotnik swung around in his chair as I entered. He squelched the attitude right out of me as he said, "Knuckles, the laser firing destroyed the platform stabilizers for floor 1C and up. The floor and ceiling are going to close."   
  
I caught my breath. That's where Sonic and Tails were. I sat down in the co-pilot's seat and looked at the computer's readout. Doc was right. I looked up at him. "How long will it take to close?"   
  
"About--" He glanced at his watch. "--two minutes." * * *   
  
Tails stumbled on his rollerblades. Stubbornly he slowed down, grabbing at the buckles.   
  
"What are you doing?" Sonic shouted from ahead.   
  
"Taking off these darn skates," Tails exclaimed. As he pulled one free, the floor lurched again and began to move. Sonic skimmed back and grabbed his good arm. Tails noticed his hand was ice-cold through the glove. "Get up! We gotta get outta here!"   
  
Tails kicked off his other rollerblade. "Okay. Now I can run!"   
  
The two raced down the long hallway, one on skates, the other on foot, but both just as frightened. Sonic kept one hand on Tails's wrist to be sure he didn't trip or fall behind. And it was a good idea, for the lifting floor made it easy to stumble. It seemed as if the entire ship were coming apart.   
  
Sonic glanced up at the ceiling. If the floor was moving up at that speed, and the ceiling was six feet up, then ... time was short. "Tails," he panted, "look for a trapdoor in the ceiling or something. If we can't get out of here, we're gonna get killed!"   
  
Tails looked up at the ceiling, noticing how close it was getting. He kept his eyes on it, letting Sonic's hand guide him down the passage.   
  
A few long, breathless seconds passed. The floor boosted a foot higher, inching the hall that much smaller, like a giant trash compactor. Suddenly Tails's searching gaze caught a possible exit. He pulled back against Sonic's hold, eyes fixed upward. "Sonic, a porthole--a door!" He had spotted a round door in the ceiling with a wheel on it. Sonic hit the blades's brakes and spun around, searching. "Where?"   
  
They dashed back and stood beneath it. They couldn't reach it-- yet. "We'll hafta wait a minute," Sonic said, words coming between breaths. "If it's locked or somethin' we're sunk."   
  
The ceiling slowly lowered like a giant nut-cracker. They waited nervously. Sonic, at one point, leaped up and grabbed ahold of the wheel. There was a muffled clank as his hands closed on it. He jerked back and forth, dangling feet swinging wildly--Tails stood clear of them. "It's jammed," he grunted to his sidekick. He let go and dropped to the floor. "Better put jam in your pockets, 'cause we're both about to be toast."   
  
Tails didn't even smile. "Maybe we can both try it when it comes down far enough."   
  
Sonic looked at him. "That means we'll have one chance." His eyes moved upward. "Work fast, little bro."   
  
Inch by inch the floor lifted them upward, machinery rumbling below, metal grinding against metal. Sonic looked grim. This would be close. Tails kept his gaze fixed on the trapdoor as if it were made of gold. It edged closer ... closer ...   
  
"Now!" Sonic barked. He and Tails leaped into the air and grabbed opposite ends of the wheel. "Pull right," Sonic said. "Same time as me. Go ... go ... go ..." Each time he said 'go' they jerked the wheel to the right as hard as they could. The wheel gave a little, then stuck tight. They kept pulling.   
  
Their dangling feet touched the floor. They looked at each other, then at the hallway. Less than three feet were left between floor and ceiling. "It opens or we die," Sonic said flatly, the noise of their surroundings nearly drowning him out. They threw themselves into twisting the wheel, the floor giving their feet leverage.   
  
With a rusty shriek the wheel gave in. The door flew upward and swung out of sight. Warm wind rushed down on them, along with bright sunlight. Without hesitating they clambered up and out of that death-trap.   
  
Unfortunately, they were only a couple feet from the backside of one of the jet engines. The turbulence hit them like an express train, impossible to stand against, ripping the breath from their bodies.   
  
An instant later they were flung off the ship like scraps of paper. Sonic saw the tail fin of Flying Battery slide by, leaving only empty space below him. * * *   
  
Doc and I watched them drop past the cockpit, both doing over sixty. Then they were below us and out of sight. "They got out," I said, my relief undisguised in my voice. Doc looked at me with a funny expression, one hand twisting the end of his mustache thoughtfully. "Knuckles," he said, "why don't you go after them? I think I can get started on Death Egg's repairs without you,"   
  
I looked at him, wondering if my eagerness showed in my eyes. "Oh man, can I? Thanks, Doc!"   
  
I whirled and ran for the door. Below was Sandopolis; the desert of the Floating Island. I had always wanted to 'escort' them through ... . . .   
  
As the door closed behind Knuckles, Robotnik spoke aloud to the cockpit. "Metal Sonic, come to the bridge." To himself, he continued, "That echidna may be a dimwit, but he's not so dense as to miss the significance of where Death Egg crashed. I'm sure Lava Reef is near Hidden Palace. If I can only search ..."   
  
Metal Sonic stepped in, red eyes shimmering. "Yes, Dr. Robotnik?"   
  
"Mecha, I want you to follow Knuckles. Watch him, but do not be seen. I want to know of his and Sonic's whereabouts while I am underground. Understand?"   
  
"Understood. I will go now." 


	2. Sandopolis through Doomsday.

Chapter 9 Sandopolis   
_______________________________________________________________________   
  
Tails slowly opened his eyes. The sun burned down fiercely, and the sand beneath him burned upward. He hadn't been lying there very long--the sand was just starting to scorch through his fur. He sat up, slightly dizzy from the fall. He had landed as Sonic had taught him-- breaking his fall by rolling.   
  
The fox stood up, brushing the rough sand from his coat. The air smelled of hot rock and baking vegetation. The sun reflecting off the bright sand made him blink and squint. A faint breeze touched his face, stirring the heat a little. He scanned his surroundings, slowly realizing where he was. Mirages shimmered on the horizon like pools of water, reflecting the clear blue sky. There were buildings in the distance; another abandoned city. The many structures were mostly ruins--fallen to pieces over years of neglect. The walls were faded colors. Yellow, red and brown seemed to be the colors of the original paint and bricks, now bleached nearly white under the constant sun. It was still and dead. Dry scrub grew in the few shadows. It was a desolate, unwelcoming place.   
  
A sound made him turn. A short distance away, Sonic was just sitting up. He gave a faint cry. Concerned, Tails walked up to him, feet crunching on the sand. Sonic glanced up at him, then back down at his feet. "Aw Tails, my skates are ruined! They're fulla sand!" Mournfully he pulled them off and set them down. "That's the second toy I've wrecked today." He stood up slowly, dusting himself off.   
  
"Sonic," Tails said softly, "where are we?"   
  
For the first time Sonic looked around.   
  
After a moment of loud silence (and with the sun beating down on them), Sonic gave a low whistle. "Hoo boy, looks like we did it again. Another hostile location. Gee. Let's see if we can get out of this sun."   
  
They trotted across the burning sand to the first ruined block. A few minutes of searching revealed a shady spot under several pillars that leaned against a roofless wall. They took refuge under this. Sonic leaned against the warm wall and said, "At this point, the sidekick always has the bright idea. What do we do now?"   
  
Tails leaned against the wall beside him. "I have no clue. We're still on the island, right?"   
  
"I think so. I think this place is called Sandopolis."   
  
"Hmm." Tails was working on the bright idea. Absentmindedly he rubbed his bandaged shoulder, eyes fixed on the rippling skyline. "Sonic, where was Flying Battery going? Any idea?"   
  
Sonic shook his head. "Nope. It sure wanted to get there in a hurry, though. Be nice to be shy of Knux for a while." He pulled off one glove and stared at his metal hand again. Tails looked at it, too. "Does that hurt?"   
  
"This? Nah. It just feels kinda funny--like I'm wearing stiff gloves."   
  
Tails stepped back. One foot struck a pile of loose rocks, which tumbled down in a tiny avalanche. Instantly their ears were filled with a rattling buzz. They turned. To their horror, the whole pile was a rattlesnake nest. Three snakes were coiled up, ready to strike, and several more were slithering into view.   
  
Sand flew in all directions as Sonic and Tails made tracks. They didn't stop until they were a good distance away from the ruins. "Good night!" Sonic gasped. "Did you SEE that? There were tons of 'em!"   
  
Tails nodded, panting. "Yeah. I'm lucky they didn't bite first and ask questions later." He held up his thumb and forefinger, forming a mock gun. "Like this. Bang, stop or I'll shoot!"   
  
Sonic chuckled and looked back toward the buildings. "Well, I guess this means we stay out of the ruins. All the shade will be sheltering snakes and scorpions and whatever else lives out here." Another thought struck him and he sobered. "And tonight, when it cools off, everything deadly will go hunting. Oh man, we'd better be out of here by then, Tails."   
  
The fox looked up at his friend imploringly. "Can't we just look around a teeny bit? If we stay in the open, you know, away from snakes and stuff."   
  
Sonic sighed, relenting. "Oh, all right, you little creep. We'll check around." 

* * *

  
  
I stood silently in the shelter of the ruins, watching and listening to them. There weren't as many dangerous creatures here as they thought. They had just happened to walk into a rattlers' nest. I wasn't much afraid of the snakes; my race had long been immune to their venom.   
  
Now they were walking back toward me. I crouched in the shadows and listened to them as they passed me, chattering like magpies. It seemed they talked a mile a minute every time they explored. This time, instead of it irritating me, it made me lonesome. It would be nice to be able to have a close friend to talk to like that. I thought guiltily of Espio. I had just abandoned him to board Flying Battery; without telling him, of course. He had a very low opinion of Robotnik, and I didn't want to take the trouble to explain why I was working for him. Well, maybe after this was over with, I could go back and find Espio.   
  
Sonic and Tails were getting a good distance away. I slipped out of my shelter and began to follow them. The ruins of Sandopolis were nothing like Marble Gardens--these were older, and their layout was simpler. I wouldn't lose them THIS time. 

* * *

  
  
Metal Sonic stood still, shielded behind a stone wall, tracking all three with his radar. He had already decided he absolutely hated Sonic and Tails, but wasn't sure about Knuckles. The echidna had helped build him, after all. There was just something about him; something about the way his eyes lit up when he spoke of Sonic and Tails. It didn't seem right for him to be so enthusiastic.   
  
Mecha paced out of hiding and down a deserted street, parallel to Sonic and Tails's course. Knuckles was more difficult to track, as he wove in and out of the ruins, sometimes stopping for minutes at a time, then vanishing noiselessly. Knux's feelings for Sonic were rivalry, not necessarily enmity. Those feelings could eventually lead to trouble.   
  
The robot clenched his fists. At that point, Knuckles would have to be done away with. 

* * *

  
  
I was totally unaware of Metal Sonic's presence. All my attention was focused on Sonic and Tails as they poked around. They were nearing the spot I had beamed down at. I had used the ring teleporter. It had always vanished behind me and never reappeared, and I wasn't worried about them finding it.   
  
So a feeling of horror struck me as they looked into the ruins and Tails exclaimed, "Sonic, look! It's that glowing teleporter!"   
  
"Great," Sonic replied, sounding less than thrilled. "Well, lets see where it takes us."   
  
"No!" I leaped out of hiding, but I was too late. They had already touched it and teleported. I stood still, my hands doubled up at my sides, a horrible, fearsome rage tearing my insides apart. Hidden Palace. The teleporter only glowed when it was set for Hidden Palace. The Master emerald! What if--what if they--   
  
I yanked out my miniature emerald, rubbed my hand across it and threw it on the ground. Usually a teleporter would have appeared, but nothing happened. I tried it again. Still nothing. My suspicions were confirmed. I couldn't teleport because the channel was filled; it would take them there and back before freeing up. I had set it to do that myself, but now I cursed the handiness of the emeralds. It was set up to appear for them instead of me. Must have something to do with the chaos emeralds.   
  
I was helpless. I hated feeling helpless. But there was nothing I could do. Ah, but I could wait. And I would make them pay. Hidden Palace was off-limits to all but me. Intruders! The pure, heated rage I had felt before and struggled with was back, stronger than ever. I beat one of my fists against the block wall, my knuckle-spikes punching double holes. It was an action of fury.   
  
After a moment I retreated to a place where I could watch without being seen. I would get them when they came back. Oh, I would make them suffer ... 

* * *

  
  
Sonic stood in the cool dimness of Hidden Palace, Tails beside him. Before them was the Master emerald on its pedestal--around them were the six dead super emeralds and the one glowing green one.   
  
Tails touched Sonic's metal hand. "Let me charge one," he said softly, his voice echoing in the cavern. "It might hurt you to touch one."   
  
Sonic looked down at his hands, face darkening. "If not for these darn things, I'd put up a fight. But," he sighed heavily, "I know what the emeralds do to machinery. Are you sure you want to try to charge one? It's really hard on ya."   
  
Tails nodded. "Hey, I'm in better shape than I was. I can handle it." All the same, he looked nervous.   
  
Sonic walked to the emerald beside the one he had charged. It was a dull ashy grey, cold and lifeless. Tails stood beside him, biting his lower lip. "You gonna be able to handle this, little bro?"   
  
Tails nodded without speaking. Then he drew a deep breath, thrust out his hands and slapped them down on the emerald's top.   
  
It happened just as it had before. Light appeared out of nowhere, surrounding Tails and the emerald. Sonic watched as he was lifted into the air above the pedestal, enclosed in a force-field-like bubble, and slowly drained of his energy. Tails refrained from thrashing about, but his small body was tense, fists and teeth clenched, eyes shut. Sonic flinched along with him, unconsciously going stiff himself, suffering along with his sidekick.   
  
At last it was over. Tails was let down to rest on top of the charged super emerald, limp as a shoestring. Sonic pulled him off and held him in his arms. Tails collapsed against him, breath ragged and choking. "Oh Sonic," he gasped. It was all he could say. "Oh Sonic." Sonic could feel him trembling. "That was very brave, little bro," he told him softly.   
  
Tails opened his eyes and looked up at him. "I'll never touch another one, I swear it," he breathed. "That was too much."   
  
It took about ten minutes for Tails to recover. Then he and Sonic walked around a bit, looking at the other emeralds, putting off their their return to the scorching desert as long as possible. Sonic crouched down beside one of the dead crystals, looking at the inscriptions on the pedestal. "Wow, look at this one," he said to Tails. "You can almost read it. See, it looks like a D, then sort of an O--" He reached out to trace the letters with one hand. As his fingers touched the pedestal, there was a sudden flash of light and Sonic was jerked to his feet. "I thought you had to touch the emerald!" he yelped. "No fair!" And then the routine process took over, ignoring his robotized hands.   
  


* * *

  
  
I saw them stumble into view. Literally stumble--they both took two or three steps, then fell over. They just lay in the sand for a while, then Tails got up and knelt beside Sonic. Sonic looked AWFUL. His face was almost grey, and if I hadn't seen him moving I'd have thought he was dead.   
  
Surprisingly, I felt no compassion. Nothing but a hard, cold resentment. "He deserved whatever he got," I thought grimly. "And I'll see to it he gets more of the same." 

* * *

  
  
Sonic opened his eyes and looked at Tails dully. "Three down, four to go," he mumbled, "and I have absolutely no strength left. You okay, kiddo?"   
  
"I guess so. Are you gonna be able to go on? We can't stay here-- there's no water."   
  
"I guess I'll have to." Sonic slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. "I feel terrible. This must be what it's like to be old."   
  
Tails looked worried. "Are you all right? Want me to call Slasher?"   
  
"No, no. I'm okay, just tired." To prove it, Sonic dragged himself to his feet. He was forced to lean against the wall a moment as the blood rushed to his head, but once it passed he felt a little better. "C'mon, Tails," he said, motioning to the bright outdoors. "Let's get the heck outta here."   
  
They set out once more, but the thrill of exploring was gone. The ruins were now unfriendly obstacles, and travelling was work. Knuckles followed them, his grudge against them growing with everything he saw them touch. Not only did he want them off his island, he wanted them out of commission, dead. Little did he know it, but by letting hatred consumed him, he was becoming robot-like, no better than Metal Sonic.   
  
Mecha continued to trail all three of them, observing and transmitting reports to Robotnik every fifteen minutes. As of yet, he was a very obedient robot; he had not yet developed into a ruthless, uncontrollable, scheming killer. 

* * *

  
  
An hour passed. The sun had begun its decline toward the west, and it was now the hottest past of the day.   
  
Sonic and Tails had discovered an old stone cistern that had a foot or so of tepid water in the bottom. It had dead insects in it and dirt in the bottom, but they didn't mind--it was water. They drank, ducked their heads and drank some more. After a brief rest there, they continued on, refreshed.   
  
After a while they came to a high brick wall that cut the city in half, spanning from north to south. The mortar between the bricks had crumbled away in spots, creating hiding places for scorpions, spiders and small lizards who zipped for cover as Sonic and Tails approached. "Wow," said Tails, throwing back his orange head and looking up. "That's a big wall. Wonder what's behind it?"   
  
Sonic, still not feeling himself, replied, "Who knows. Maybe a river, maybe the other half of the city, maybe nothing. Curiosity killed the cat, ya know."   
  
"And satisfaction brought it back," Tails retorted. "I'm gonna check it out." He reached behind him and twisted his double tails together. He unfurled them with a flourish, spinning them like helicopter rotors. He left the ground and flew lightly to the top of the wall. Sonic heard him whistle. "Whew! Must be somethin' cool over there, Sonic. There's a great big open place in the ruins, like an arena or something. What do you suppose--"   
  
Tails broke off. Sonic saw him look at something, cupping his hands around his eyes to see better.   
  
"What is it, little bro?"   
  
"I donno. It's a huge black cloud front. Looks like another thunderstorm."   
  
"Another one? You're kidding me."   
  
"No, and it's coming really--" A sudden gust of wind struck Tails and nearly hurled him off backward. "Sonic, I think it's a sandstorm!"   
  
"Wonderful, just what we need. Get down and lets find some shelter."   
  
Tails spun his tails, intending to lower himself down. Instead the wind caught him, lifting him off his feet and into the darkening sky. "Tails!" Sonic yelped in horror. Tails slowed in the lull between gusts, and tried to land. But another gust hit and held, followed by even more, blowing him away like a stringless kite.   
  
Sonic ran along under him, dodging around buildings and hurtling fallen pillars, eyes on his friend. The wind was full of sand now, carrying it like a curtain through the air, forming little eddies behind obstacles, driving it against everything with a savage hiss. It burned Sonic's back and legs, getting into his eyes and mouth, blocking his view of Tails. For one long moment Tails saw him, reached out pleadingly--Sonic reached up--their fingertips touched--then the sandy clouds enveloped Tails, and he was gone.   
  
Sonic ran a few more paces, his eyes straining to see through the clouds, voice hoarse with calling. He came to a stop. Tails was gone, just like that. He stood still, eyes fixed on the stormy sky, heart like ice. Once more he cried his friend's name, but the blowing wind only mocked him in return. Tails was gone; the finality of it hit him like a ton of bricks. Gone! He couldn't go on without Tails! He ran a bit more, but couldn't call anymore. The sand and dust was beginning to smother him.   
  
He found a mostly intact building and sank down in the lee of the wind. His teeth gritted with dust, his throat felt like sandpaper and his eyes burned. He wanted to scream with grief and frustration. Grief over the loss of Tails, frustration at the storm that prevented him from searching.   
  
It was still and hot in his little shelter. Sand trickled over the walls and down to the ground in little rivulets. Sonic slumped against the wall and shut his eyes. So--tired--poor Tails--hope he's all right--   
  
The sound of footsteps aroused him. He sat up, wanting, hoping to see Tails-- Instead, his blurred eyes made out Knuckles's stocky form. Knux was standing just out of the wind's reach, panting a little. Their eyes met. Sonic was startled. Knuckles's countenance had changed so much he was almost unrecognizable. His eyes were black with hatred, and burned like live coals. In two bounds he was at Sonic's side, motions almost feline.   
  
Sonic leaped to his feet, sensing this would not be a friendly meeting. He was right. Knuckles shoved him against the wall roughly. Sonic swatted his hand away and moved up a step. "Keep your mitts off me," he growled. "I'm not in the mood for violence."   
  
Knuckles stood his ground, head lowered, eyes narrowed, teeth bared. They faced each other coldly, neither wanting to make the first move. Sonic folded his arms and threw his head back. "Go ahead, hit me," he challenged. "I'm not going to fight you."   
  
He didn't expect Knux to do just that, but managed to sidestep the blow. Knuckles's fist hit the wall with a thud. The echidna moved back a few steps, knees bent, back arched, fists up. Sonic felt a slight twinge of fear. This guy meant business and had not said a word the whole time.   
  
"Knux, please--"   
  
Knuckles came at him again, eyes full of hate. Sonic dodged again. There wasn't much room for fighting in this little ten by six foot square. Again they faced each other. For the first time Knuckles spoke, his voice little more than a beast's snarl with words. "I'm gonna kill you--" He sprang, caught Sonic as he dodged and slammed him to the ground.   
  
The echidna crouched, pinning his opponent down, pressing one knee into his chest, holding his arms. Sonic struggled, but was still too weak from his episode in Hidden Palace to throw him off. Again their eyes met and regarded each other. 

* * *

  
  
I was surprised to see that Sonic didn't seem frightened. He just lay there and stared at me, sort of pleading, but not afraid. It was so odd I had to question it. "What aren't you scared?" My voice sounded strange, even to me. His lips barely moving, he replied, "I'm terrified."   
  
"You don't look it."   
  
He didn't answer, just kept looking straight into my eyes. It maddened me. I lifted one hand, intending to bring my knuckles down in his face. The blow never fell. His arm darted up and his hand closed on my wrist. I felt the cold metal plating through the fabric of his glove, and with a chill I remembered his hands.   
  
"Don't you think you've done enough?" he asked quietly. "If not, then go ahead and pound me." I sat frozen, uncertain. The horror of his robotization was still with me, even though I had tried to bury it. But the protective instinct for the emeralds was still there, and the indignation-turned-hatred. I was torn. 

* * *

  
  
The fire left Knuckles's eyes. Grudgingly he moved aside and let Sonic up. "I won't pound you yet," he warned as Sonic climbed to his feet. "But I'll have you know that Hidden Palace is forbidden to all but me. If you go there again, I'm not gonna hesitate. Next time I catch you, you'll be breathing out your ears."   
  
Sonic primly dusted himself off. "Knuckles, if you knew what we were doing in Hidden Palace, you'd thank us a thousand times over."   
  
"Why? What are you doing?" Knux looked curious.   
  
Sonic looked up at him. "I can't tell you yet, but I'll tell you this--it sure has beat the heck out of me and Tails." At the mention of his friend's name, Sonic flinched and looked out at the blowing curtain of sand. Knuckles noticed this, and realized Tails was not there. "Where IS Tails?"   
  
"I don't know." Sonic said nothing more, knowing if he did he would shame himself by breaking down before his rival. He moved back to the wall and sat down, staring out at the wind-driven storm.   
  
After a moment Knuckles turned and dashed out into the sandstorm. Sonic watched him go. Then, in a brief lull the air cleared, and another figure could be seen moving after Knuckles. Its head turned, and two glowing red eyes examined Sonic for an instant. Then the sand covered it, and it was gone. 

* * *

  
  
The storm raged for another hour and finally died out around sunset. Sonic cautiously came out of hiding, scanning the sky, wondering if it was some trick of the weather's. But the storm was over. The sand was blown into ripples and ridges, heaped up against everything that had blocked the wind. The grey-green desert scrub was half buried in some places and lay with roots exposed in others.   
  
Knuckles was nowhere around and the wind had covered his tracks. Sonic thought uneasily of the red-eyed figure. Unless he was mistaken, that had been Metal Sonic. What was the robot doing out here? Did Knux know?   
  
He stopped walking and held his breath, listening. It was almost perfectly quiet. He could hear the fine hissing of sand trickling down the walls and roofless structures. He could hear the plastic rattling as a scorpion crossed his path, leaving a tiny trail in the dust. Then there was nothing.   
  
Sonic cupped his hands to his mouth and brayed, "Ta-ils! Taaiills!" He listened again. Nothing. His head filled with thoughts of what could have happened to his friend. Smothered by the blowing dust--falling on sharp rocks and breaking an arm or leg--landing exhausted and being buried by the drifting sand--snakebite--Metal Sonic! Suddenly he regarded the empty ruins with horror, his insides twisting. Tails lost, and being stranded alone here! What if Tails had been blown completely off the island and into the sea?   
  
He wandered aimlessly for a good while, watching the night shadows grow in length and depth, making Sandopolis ring with his calls of, "Ta-ils! Miles! Miles Prower, do you hear me?" The sky faded into late evening blue and a few stars appeared. The desert was cooled by the storm, and with the sun gone it was almost chilly. Sonic thought of Tails out there by himself, watching night come, maybe having to sleep in the open, cold and alone--   
  
Sonic found himself back at the ten-foot wall his friend had been swept off of. He looked up at the massive dark shape with distrust. If Tails hadn't have wanted to climb it, they would still be together. Well, the storm was over. Might as well try to get over it--   
  
The wind had drifted sand over the top of the wall and deposited it in heaps on the near side. Some piles reached nearly to the top. Sonic struggled up the highest one he could find, feet sinking in the soft sand. At last he reached the top of the brick wall and scrambled up.   
  
The wall was about eighteen inches thick, easy to walk on. To his surprise, the other side of the wall had a solid slope of sand packed against it, smooth and hard; doubtless deposited there by other sandstorms. He looked westward, toward the ruins Tails had described. Sure enough, there was a vast open space in the center, not too far away. In the failing light it looked like Stonehenge, outlined against the dimming sunset.   
  
Sonic turned his back on it and looked eastward, the direction Tails had gone. He wished for the chaos emeralds' power to enhance his vision. Bitterly he thought of the life-draining super emeralds that had stolen them. Well, you couldn't argue with a gem ...   
  
"Taaiillss!" he shouted, hoping the new vantage point would let his voice carry further. But no answering call met his ears. He thought again of Metal Sonic's presence and swallowed uneasily. He made an easy target way up here. He turned and trotted down the packed slope, nervous. Night was falling. Anything could happen under the cover of darkness. He wondered where Slasher was ... 

* * *

  
  
Tails had heard Sonic clear as a bell that time, but didn't dare answer. He was pressed flat against a wall, motionless, hardly breathing. On the other side of the wall was Metal Sonic.   
  
The robot was quietly updating Robotnik on all that had happened. Tails could hear him speaking aloud, just barely audible.   
  
"I apologize for the long delay, sir. A small storm blocked all transmission." He paused, apparently receiving some reply Tails couldn't hear. The fox waited, heart in his mouth, wondering if he should run. But to his relief, Mecha continued. "Yes. Knuckles and Sonic are both in scan range. No, Tails is lost. Excuse me; Miles ... no, he was blown away by the storm ... I do not know where he is." Tails gulped and wished he could turn himself invisible. "Yes sir, I will continue to track them. Yes sir. Mecha out."   
  
The robot fell silent. Tails held still, beginning to sweat from the tension, straining his ears for departing footsteps. For a long time there was no sound at all, and he began to wonder if Mecha had somehow left without making a sound. He was on the verge of leaving, himself, when he heard the robot's feet crunch on the sand as he walked away.   
  
Tails let himself sink down against the wall and breathe freely once more. Now to find Sonic. 

* * *

  
  
Sonic warily made his way through the new territory, alert to any sound. He saw a few snakes, another scorpion and some lizards, but nothing more. He thought of Knuckles, the robot and Tails as he explored in the twilight, wondering where they were and what they were doing.   
  
The open space in the midst of the ruins was a puzzle. The sand was a lighter color than the surrounding desert, and was smooth, unmarked even by insects. The buildings around it were not as ruined as the rest of it; some still had roofs and the remains of pavement. Sonic wandered in and out in the eerie silence, wanting to walk into the open area but not quite daring. There was something unnatural about it.   
  
He discovered what that open space was for by accident.   
  
He had found a small hut with paintings of the walls and was looking at them, wishing for a flashlight. Some of the figures looked like the ones in Marble Gardens, and he wished he could see them better. He was tracing one finger along the hieroglyphic-writing, wondering what it said, aware of the metallic sounds his hands made against the brick. To his surprise, one of the bricks inward slightly under his touch. He touched it again, glanced around the room suspiciously, then placed both hands on it and shoved.   
  
The brick slid inward with a grinding sound, then clicked loudly. Sonic stepped back nervously. A tick, tick, tick was coming from within the wall, like a time bomb. An eternity of ten seconds passed. Sonic waited.   
  
The quiet was broken by the whirr and whine of machinery starting. The wall began to split apart, dust pouring into the air. Sonic realized it was a concealed door, the bricks on the outside interlocking like clasped fingers. They were sliding apart with a terrific noise. Sonic shielded his face and bounded out the doorway, afraid but hating to admit it.   
  
After a moment the rumbling subsided. Sonic stood outside, letting the dust settle, curious and nervous at the same time. How he wished for Tails's company!   
  
He stuck his head in the doorway and looked around. It was almost completely dark by this time, and he could see little. However, there seemed to be a good deal of space at the rear of the room. Cautiously he ventured in, straining to see in the dark, ready to run at a moment's notice. He noticed a musty odor that hadn't been there before. Had it opened a secret room? Cool. He moved forward a few more steps, wondering about traps.   
  
A face!!   
  
Sonic tore out of the building, heart ricocheting around the inside of his ribcage. Once outside he whirled around to see if it was following him. The black doorway was empty, and total silence reigned. He stood still indecisively, letting his heart find its place in his chest again. What had that thing been? It had resembled an animal, maybe a lion. It had been staring straight at him, face contorted in a terrible snarl. Maybe he should leave. And have it follow him around in the dark? No way. Maybe he should go back and see for sure.   
  
He crept back to the doorway, his eyes the size of dinnerplates. He ventured inside a few steps, probing the darkness for it. There it was! He froze, staring at it. It stared back, teeth shining in the shadows, eyes glowing. He waited for it to move, to growl or something. But it didn't stir. Hesitantly, one foot at a time, he inched up to it and extended a hand toward its head. Very carefully, slowly, he touched it.   
  
Stone. The cold sweat of relief broke out all over him. It was a carving. He looked at it closer. It had fiery diamonds for teeth and dark green emeralds for eyes. It was a lion, crouched in the dark behind the secret panel, meant to frighten away intruders. And it had worked.   
  
He looked around, but all that seemed to be in the hidden room was the stone lion. He ran one hand over the wall, half looking for another loose brick. His hand encountered something cold and round. He couldn't see it, but it felt like a button or a dial of some sort. Without hesitating he pushed it.   
  
The button clicked and lit up, casting a bright yellow glow into the darkness. It seemed like a floodlight to Sonic's dark-sensitive eyes. He turned away from it, wondering what it did. His answer came in the form of a mild earthquake.   
  
He ducked into the open, away from the ruins, thinking of Marble Gardens. The ground was vibrating, trembling, rippling a little. He thought of Tails, wondering if he could feel it, hoping he would be all right. Then he glanced toward the empty white sand area and forgot everything else.   
  
A hill had formed in the center and was slowly increasing in height. The sand streamed down it. After a moment dark brick came into view, lifting up into the air. Sonic stared as row after row of brick appeared, each new layer increasing in size and width. It was a step- pyramid, and growing like Jack's beanstalk. It rose higher and higher, getting larger and larger, nearing the ruins around it. It stopped a few feet away from them. And there it stood, a massive, imposing shape against the night sky, sand pouring down the sides in rivers. The earthquake subsided, and total silence resumed. 

* * *

  
  
Metal Sonic stood silently in the shadows, his red glowing eyes shut off so as not to reveal himself. His scans swept the pyramid. It was full of tunnels and extended far beneath the ground. A labyrinth began to appear in his radar. It was very large and went very deep ... 

* * *

  
  
I stared up at the pyramid, watching the sand slide off it. I had read of the pyramid, of the traps and tunnels and secret passages. It had been concealed for many years. But here it was! How had it been buried like that, and what had forced it up? Sonic. Sonic had to have done it. But what in the world had he done?   
  
I crept closer. There had to be a way inside. 

* * *

  
  
Tails stood atop the high wall, warily eyeing the vast structure. Not only had he found Sonic's tracks in the soft sand mounds, he had also found two more sets. Metal Sonic's undoubtedly, and probably Knuckles. Who or what had caused the pyramid's appearance he didn't know, but was beginning to feel very small and alone. Sonic was probably down there and would hear if he called, but that might expose both of them to their enemies. What should he do?   
  
Tails cautiously began to creep down the sandy hill. 

* * *

  
  
Sonic stood silently in the darkness, the only part of his body in motion being his eyes. This was the part, he was sure, where the guns appeared and blasted all to cinders. But nothing happened. It was so quiet he could hear the sand hissing faintly as it sifted to the ground. He began to move forward, wondering what he was supposed to do now. He stopped a dozen feet away from the base and again reconnoitered. The uncanny silence was beginning to get on his nerves.   
  
Cautiously he began to circle the pyramid. It was big. Each block was half again as tell as he was, and twice that length. It towered sixty feet into the night sky. He could smell the settling dust. Still nothing happened.   
  
He reached the far side and came to the first break in the outer shell. It was a stone door as big as a garage. It had no handles or keyholes, and looked as if it had been sealed for years. Sonic sidled up to it, uneasy and feeling something was always behind him. He turned and scanned the black doorways and hollows in the ruins. It seemed full of eyes and faces, the faint starlight picking out odd shapes. But now his back was to the strange door. It could open and anything could come out. He whipped around to face it. "If I hear a sound," he thought with grim humor, "I'll probably scream and shoot straight up. And I won't come down very soon either."   
  
Sonic looked up at the top of the door, examining the stone, and extended one hand to touch it. As his fingertips touched the stone surface, the entire door trembled like a leaf. He jerked his hand away immediately. The door rumbled, electronic sparks flashing through the cracks in the rock. It quivered once more, then vaporized into dust on the threshold.   
  
Now Sonic was really scared.   
  
He backed away from the vacant doorway, feeling a cool breath of air on his face and arms. The pyramid was open. Oh, where was Tails when he needed him? Even Knuckles would be welcome--anything to reassure him that he was still on planet Mobius. The empty opening would have had a creepy air about it in the daytime; at night it was downright sinister. Sonic stood uncertainly and and looked at it, then all around-- especially behind him. Nothing. Figures. The logical thing to do was enter the pyramid. No, he couldn't without Tails. Tails ...   
  
Sonic turned his back on the pyramid, squelched his fears of his enemies hearing, and called, "Ta-ils! Where are you?" He stood still and listened. After a few seconds he was rewarded by a soft call. "Sonic?"   
  
Footsteps crunched on the sand, and Tails's light figure appeared from behind the debris. He flung himself into Sonic's arms and they exchanged hugs. "Oh Sonic," he whispered, "I'm not afraid of the dark, but I hate this place. Metal Sonic is following us."   
  
"What about Knux? Have you seen him?"   
  
"No. He's tracking you, not me."   
  
Sonic cast a wary glance into the darkness surrounding them. "Are you okay? Did you get hurt in the storm?"   
  
"N-no. I curled up and it dropped me way out in the desert. I hid behind some rocks 'til it stopped. What about you?"   
  
"Oh, Knux tried to start a fight, but I reminded him of my hands and he backed off."   
  
Tails moved back a step, looking up at the towering pyramid. "I saw this thing come up. Did you do it?"   
  
"Yeah. Don't ask me what I did; I'm still not sure." Sonic turned with him, one hand on his friend's shoulder. "Wanna go in?"   
  
Tails shivered, looked down, then back at the ruins. "Well ... I donno. What about THEM?"   
  
Sonic followed his gaze, thinking of how Mecha's eyes glowed. "Maybe they won't follow us. Maybe they'll chicken out."   
  
"Or maybe they WILL follow us. Oh Sonic, can't we call Slasher and go back to the mainland where it's safe?"   
  
"You've turned into quite a chicken yourself," Sonic said, although he, too had considered that option. "No, let's go in. No telling what we'll find."   
  
Tails looked uncertain. "Well, if you say so ..." 

* * *

  
  
"Sonic, look out!"   
  
The two of them leaped out of the way as a large stone plug fell from the ceiling. Sand began to pour through the opening, filling the corridor. "Run!" Sonic barked, the stone walls echoing back his voice.   
  
"I can't run," Tails protested. Sonic grabbed him by the hand, and they four-wheeled it down the passage.   
  
They had been in the pyramid two hours, and were hopelessly lost. This was the second sand-trap they had unwittingly triggered. The first had filled the passage for a hundred feet up and down, so they knew what to expect with this one.   
  
They were both exhausted. They had discovered another teleporter and travelled to Hidden Palace once more. They charged one super apiece, dropping the number of dead ones to two, but totally lost their second wind doing it. Tails was all for dropping in his tracks and sleeping, but Sonic was afraid to. Something kept him moving--a survival instinct, perhaps.   
  
"Sonic," Tails gasped, slowing. "I can't. I can't run. I gotta rest."   
  
Sonic looked back at the growing mound of sand. "Tails, we can't stop here." He was alarmed to see Tails sink to his knees and lean against the stone wall.   
  
"Sonic, I just can't. Gotta rest ..."   
  
The fine, choking sand-dust was filling the air. In desperation, Sonic scooped up his friend in his arms and fled.   
  
The tunnel sloped up, curved right, then left, criss-crossed by other corridors, studded with doorways. Sonic kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, knowing that to peer into the shadows meant losing his nerve completely. Tails laid his head on Sonic's shoulder and sighed. He was too tired to care much about anything anymore.   
  
Sonic's footsteps lagged. Tails was heavy, and he hadn't much strength left. Well, maybe they had come far enough. He looked up, letting his eyes scan the dim ceiling. There, he spotted an ancient mechanism with a big metal bar dangling from it. They would rest beneath it ...   
  
Sonic knelt and laid Tails on the floor. The fox was already asleep. Poor kid ... Sonic stretched out beside him, feeling his aching muscles relax. Normally, sleeping on a cold stone floor would have been uncomfortable, but tonight he was tired enough to sleep in a wind tunnel. He stared vacantly up at the old machinery built into the ceiling.   
  
An old fashioned light-switch--that's what it was. Pulling it somehow activated the old torches that lined the hallways, making them flare up and burn brightly, producing almost no smoke. After a while, when no other switches had been pulled, the torches would dim and go out. A curious technology. Knux's ancestors must have been very advanced ... Sonic dozed.   
  
Time passed. The pyramid was silent, as it had been through the ages, and the two exhausted explorers slept without a sound. The old torches flickered out, and darkness filled the corridors. All was deathly still ...   
  
Tails opened his eyes. Strange, he who had been ready to drop was the first to awaken. He had dreamed of Metal Sonic stalking silently through the pyramid, using no light and needing none, feet hardly touching the ground--   
  
It was pitch dark. He put out a hand and felt Sonic lying beside him, sleeping heavily. All was well. He closed his eyes again, reassured by his friend's presence.   
  
A motion of the air touched his face and ears. He snapped awake. Why would the air be circulating when it had been dead still? Someone was coming. Dread filled his heart. Trying not to hyperventilate, he sat up and listened. His big ears caught the faintest whisper of a footstep, far down the hall. He remembered his dream about Metal Sonic. He was certain that that was who it was.   
  
He groped in the darkness until he found Sonic's warm body. He shook him. "Sonic, wake up," he whispered fearfully. "Something's here."   
  
Sonic groaned loudly. "What? Tails?"   
  
"Shh!"   
  
Sonic sat up, mind clouded and drugged with sleep. "What's wrong?"   
  
"Somebody's coming."   
  
Sonic rubbed his eyes with the back of one hand, trying to wake up. He felt Tails's hands clench around his arm and his friend's frightened breath on his face.   
  
"It's getting closer. Can we turn on the lights?"   
  
"Yeah. There's a switch--right up there."   
  
Tails jumped to his feet, one hand waving in the air above his head. His reaching fingers encountered the rough, cold metal. He grabbed the bar and gave it a hard pull.   
  
There was a protesting screech from above and the ancient torches blazed into life. The darkness was repelled, driven into the shadows. Sonic bounded to his feet, aroused by the noise and light. Tails was standing still, listening, filled with the child-like conviction that the light would drive away the spooks. The footsteps had stopped. The only sound was the faint crackle of the torch flames, high on the walls.   
  
There was the sound of brick grating on brick, then some scratching. Tails's hand crept into Sonic's. "Do we run?" he whispered.   
  
"Not yet," Sonic replied, showing more nerve than he felt. "Lets see what we're running from first."   
  
More scratching that echoed. Then from around the corner sprang-- something. It was taller than Sonic, draped in a yellow-brown cloak that reached the floor. Its face was hideous. A mockery of a human face, it had stony square features, heavy brows, glowing eyes and gleaming fangs. It charged at them without a sound.   
  
Sonic and Tails whirled and ran for their lives. 

* * *

  
  
"Wow," I thought as I pursued them, "this old mask and cape are more effective than I thought." I had found them in a trunk in one of the musty rooms. The mask was sort of copper-plated aluminum, with quartz for teeth and rubies for eyes. It was a lot like the lion Sonic had found, but I didn't know about it then. All I knew was that I had to keep quiet and not laugh. If I laughed at their terror I would give myself away.   
  
Deciding to make myself even scarier, I jumped at a wall, climbed it one fist at a time, then glided diagonally across the hall, gaining on them. "What fun!" I thought.   
  
Well, I thought that until the unexpected happened. As I hit the wall and gathered myself for another glide, my foot struck a loose brick, forcing it inward. There was an ominous click.   
  
At once a huge slab dropped out of the floor just ahead of Sonic and Tails. They yelled and tried to stop, but it was too late. They toppled headlong into the dark hole.   
  
I rushed up to the hole and looked in, then pulled off the mask to see better. I had expected a snare or a spike pit, but this was more like a well. I could feel a faint, musty draft wafting upward from the depths. There was no sound from Sonic and Tails. "Hello!" I called down. My voice reverberated down the shaft, then was flung back to me in a taunting echo. Gosh, were they dead? Where the heck did that shaft end?   
  
I can't say I was sorry for what I had just done, for I was not. Instead, I was filled with a sort of sick curiosity. I wanted to see their dead bodies for myself. But _I_ wasn't about to jump down that shaft. No way, uh-uh. There had to be another way down ...   
  
I stood up and pulled off my cloak. Cumbersome thing--no use for it now. I glided across the pit and continued on into the pyramid. There had to be an alternate route someplace ... 

* * *

  
  
Metal Sonic calmly walked to the lip of the shaft and looked down it. His scans showed it dropped straight down thirty feet, went into a steep slope for fifty, then dropped another thirty. Sonic and Tails were at the very bottom, 1100 feet below the pyramid. Both were alive, but unmoving. Well, that meant he still needed to keep a scan on them. It shouldn't be too hard, once Knuckles found a way down.   
  
"Dr. Robotnik," Mecha said through his communicator. "Sonic and Tails will be out of the game for a while ..."   
Chapter 10   
Lava Reef  
  
______________________________________________________________________   
  
Falling, falling, careening from side to side, striking a steep ramp, rolling down. Another drop, this time into deep blackness. Landing hard in a warm place. Tails somewhere near, but doesn't answer when I call. Deep silence, warm breeze in my face. So--dead--tired--   
  
Then it seemed to Sonic that he was running, running, always from the monster in the pyramid, through echoing passages. Now the monster was a painting in the Marble Gardens mural, but still alive, moving, trying to get him. Running again. Another wall, covered with the strange pictures and writing, bigger than the biggest building, stretching across the world, towering into the sky. Then a beam of light was burning down on his face and arms. Outstretched hands slowly turning into metal, the plating creeping up his arms--the light growing brighter than anything, blinding him--fierce heat, like standing under a focused magnifying glass--   
  
Sonic gasped and awoke. He was lying on his back on stony ground, and from the way he felt had been there for hours. It had all been a dream. What a relief. But then where was he? The dream and what had really happened were confused in his mind.   
  
Slowly he sat up, bruised muscles aching. It was pitch black; darker even than the lightless pyramid. It felt solid, no light for miles. He put out a hand, feeling around. Rocks, rough floor, uneven wall to his right. It was strangely warm. He had a feeling they were far, far underground; somewhere in the bowels of the Floating Island.   
  
Where was Tails? He couldn't be far. Sonic got down on his hands and knees, hands groping, eyes probing the darkness futilely. It came to him that he hadn't heard a sound from his friend in quite some time. Oh no, what if he had landed wrong and--   
  
One hand touched something warm and furry. An arm. Sonic felt along it until he located Tails's body. The fox was lying on his side with his knees bent, out cold. Sonic cupped a hand over his nose and mouth, then silently cursed the metal that dulled his sense of touch. He leaned over Tails instead and tested for breathing with his cheek. To his relief, Tails was alive.   
  
Feeling a little better, he curled up beside his friend. Not much they could do now. Might as well sleep. It would pass the time until-- until what? Until they starved to death in this black hole?   
  
The thought was so horrifying he slammed his mental doors on it.   
  
He began to doze. The air smelled funny; kind of like propane gas. It made him sleepy, dulling the aches in his body. He gave into it, wondering vaguely if it was poisonous. Nothing he could do about it anyway ...   
  


* * *

  
  
Measureless time passed. Sonic and Tails slept, drugged by the gas gently blowing in their faces. Only the ventilation shaft above their heads kept them from suffocation.   
  
At last the gas thinned out. The air continued to move, drifting though and up into the shaft. The hole they were in was not a hole at all; it was the end of a mine shaft. Without knowing it, they had entered the Lava Reef mines, an extremely hazardous region at the island's core.   
  
Sonic slowly began to awaken, returning to the surface like a deep-sea diver. For a good while he had been aware that the darkness had become less, as if light was coming from somewhere. Now, as he swam back to consciousness, he was aware of something else; a deep throbbing hum that seemed to fill the cave and could be felt through the ground. With the unreasoning assurance of the half-asleep, he assumed it has the island's heartbeat. But as he awoke, he realized that couldn't be it.   
  
Slowly he lifted his head, realizing he could see the walls and floor quite easily. Where was the light coming from? He propped himself up on his elbows and found himself looking down a long, tilted tunnel. The light was coming from somewhere down it. He thought of his groping about the night before--or whenever it was they had entered this place. What if he had ventured into that tunnel, crawling down, searching for Tails? He shuddered at the thought.   
  
Tails was lying in a different position now, curled up, double tails covering his body like a blanket. Sonic looked at him fondly, then shook him. "Tails ... Tails, wake up."   
  
Slowly the young fox began to awaken. His sleep had been as deep as Sonic's. He yawned, stretched, opened his eyes and sat up. "Hi Sonic," he said sleepily.   
  
"Hiya Tails," Sonic replied. "Feel okay?"   
  
"Oh, I don't feel great, but I'm not in the red. My shoulder hurts--I think I landed on it when we fell." He looked down at the bandage, which wasn't so white anymore and bore a large red spot.   
  
Sonic winced. "I wish we could change that. It'll get infected."   
  
Tails only nodded, his brain still kicking on.   
  
After a few minutes he looked around. "Where are we? I thought it was dark at the bottom of the hole."   
  
"It was. There's some kind of light way down the tunnel. And a sound--hear it?"   
  
They both sat quietly for a moment, listening to the low whirr. It seemed to be coming from a great distance. "It sounds ... mechanical," Tails remarked. "What is this place?"   
  
"I donno," Sonic replied, climbing to his feet and wincing at his stiff muscles. "But we ain't getting out that way."   
  
Tails looked up at the dark shaft above their heads. "No kidding." He slowly climbed to his feet and leaned against the wall. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck--twice."   
  
"You and me both, kiddo." Sonic ventured a few steps down the tunnel, noticing the rough rock walls and wooden supports every few feet. "It looks like a mine of some kind," he told his sidekick. "We're underground again." He stamped one foot. "I'm sick of this! I've been underground more these past few days then in my whole life!"   
  
Tails moved up to him and touched his metal hand. "But we made it this far, didn't we? And we're still in one piece."   
  
Bitterly Sonic lifted one hand. "Yeah, but at what cost? My hands are totally ruined forever, and you're walking around with a hole in your shoulder. Not to mention we don't have ANY of the chaos emeralds anymore."   
  
"But Sonic, we're both alive. Where there's life there's hope."   
  
Sonic gave his friend a withering glance. "Look at the facts, Tails." He ticked them off on his fingers. "You're hurt, I'm handicapped. We have no food, no water or supplies of any kind. We haven't had a drink since Sandopolis, and a meal since--since Mushroom Hill. Robotnik might very well have all the chaos emeralds, our supers, and the Master emerald by now. And you have the guts to be optimistic?"   
  
Tails nodded. "Sure. The dog either walks on water or can't swim. I say lets keep our sense of humor. Look, we're rested and alert. Neither of us have anything seriously wrong with us. Like Slasher says, never give up, in or out."   
  
Sonic sighed. "You sure know how to boost a guy's morale. You win. I guess we'll hunt around for an exit or something."   
  
And with that, they embarked on what could be called the last leg of their journey, little knowing what lay ahead.   
  
The tunnel snaked downward, burrowing through the rock like a massive earthworm had drilled it. After a bit they came to the place the lights began--bare lightbulbs hanging from exposed wires on the stone ceiling. They were careful not to touch them.   
  
At last they spotted the end of the tunnel; a strange golden light illuminated it, and there was the smell of heated rock and sulfur. They hurried toward it, stepped into the room ... and stared in amazement.   
  
The cavern was about the size of an auditorium with a high, vaulted ceiling. Normally it would have been dark and rather cool; but it was exactly the opposite. The floor had five huge lava pits in it, criss-crossed by high stone dikes. The lava was red and orange on top, but underneath, such as when bubbles broke the surface, it was yellow and glowed like fire. The air was heavy and very hot.   
  
Sonic and Tails stared in a frightened awe. It was bizarre, unlike anything they'd ever seen. The walls were made of black lava rock and reflected the orange light only a little. Further up they faded into blue-violet shadows.   
  
Sonic said one word that described it all: "Hell." Then he beckoned to Tails and stepped onto one of the dikes. They quickly made their way across to a tunnel in the far side, shielding their faces from the intense heat. They ducked into the tunnel and leaned against the wall, gasping. "I think it singed the fur off my arms," Tails moaned. He checked, but it hadn't.   
  
Sonic felt the same. "Oh man, this is a terrible place! Let's get away from this cave."   
  
But this was the Lava Reef mines, and they had been aptly named. There were many lava caves, and the tunnels wandered in and out of them at random. And always, above and below everything else, was that deep, throbbing hum. They found out later it was the circulation fans. Placed at strategic points in the caves and powered by geo-thermal generators, they kept the air moving. Without them Lava Reef would quickly become uninhabitable.   
  
Sonic and Tails found a waterpipe that had broken and was spewing hot water all over the floor. They drank from the cooler puddles, splashing their faces, washing away some of the grit accumulated in Sandopolis. Then they continued onward, thirst slaked and beginning to feel hunger. 

* * *

  
  
They had been following one rather wide tunnel for a while. Cool air was drifting through it, and they were hoping for a lava-less cave or two, maybe a mine exit.   
  
Suddenly the wall just ahead of Sonic burst outward in a cloud of dust. Sonic collided with something and stumbled back, the dust blocking his vision.   
  
"What is it?" Tails asked from behind him.   
  
"I donno," Sonic answered. "Stay behind me--it might be a robot or something."   
  
Or something. Like the thing in the pyramid. Sonic crouched a little, slightly uneasy but ready for anything.   
  
As the dust settled they made out a moving figure, just climbing to its feet. It turned and looked straight at them. Knuckles. His mouth fell open; he had thought they would be dead! He was unprepared for this, and Sonic looked ready to attack at a moment's notice. So, to their surprise, Knuckles turned tail and fled from them.   
  
Sonic stood where he was, too surprised to move. Knuckles had run-- from THEM! "Tails," Sonic said, "did you see that? He ran away! Weird!"   
  
"He was too startled, I guess," Tails said, moving up to stand beside his friend. "Did he come out of the wall?"   
  
They turned and looked. The rock had a gaping hole dug in it, chips and fragments all over the ground. Sonic poked his head in. "Ah, I see. There's another tunnel alongside this one, and he broke through the wall between. He paused, and Tails saw a look of consternation pass over his face. "Oh no! There's another of those glowing teleporters!" He backed away from the hole. "No! I'm just now feeling rested! No way am I gonna charge a super!"   
  
Tails could see the glowing ring plainly through the opening. He gave Sonic a pleading look. "Please? There's only two left. Maybe, if we finish it up, it'll give us our strength back. C'mon, Sonic!"   
  
"I said no, and I mean no! For-git it!"   
  


* * *

  
  
They stood in Hidden Palace, facing the last two dead gems. The cave was lit by the others' colored light. The dim ceiling's crystals reflected flecks of color, and the polished marble floor held hazy reflections.   
  
"Let's do it at the same time," Tails called from a short distance away.   
  
Sonic glanced at him, eyes bright with uneasy anticipation. "Okay, if that's how you want to do it. Maybe it'll go faster. On the count of three. One, two ... three!"   
  
They smacked their hands down on the emeralds' tops.   
  
The process was nearly routine by now, but this time it was doubled. The cave resounded with the energy transfer beams, and with the occasional agonized cry that escaped the victims. But at last it was over. The brilliant light faded away, and the two were let down.   
  
Sonic lifted his head and let his eyes trace the room. Funny, he didn't feel as bad this time. The emerald he had brought to life was dark red, and Tails's was white.   
  
Tails slowly sat up. "Well Sonic, we did it--whatever it is we did."   
  
Sonic slid off the emerald and walked over to his friend. "You okay?"   
  
"I guess." Tails slowly climbed down. "What happens now?"   
  
"I donno." Sonic's eyes strayed to the Master emerald. "Maybe we should end it like we started it; by touching the Master."   
  
Tails followed his gaze, then shifted his weight from foot to foot uneasily. "Um, you sure? That might not be a good idea."   
  
Sonic shrugged. "No worse than you wanting to come here in the first place."   
  
Tails winced at the tone in his voice. "You don't have to be such a grouch about it. Well, go ahead. I didn't touch it at first."   
  
Sonic slowly advanced until he was standing before the gigantic green gem. With sudden forethought, he turned and said, "Tails, you might want to back way off. It blasted you last time."   
  
Tails obeyed, hurriedly taking shelter behind one of the emerald pedestals.   
  
Once his friend was secure, Sonic focused his attention on the Master. He could see deep into it, like staring into a bottomless pool. He drew a deep breath, shut his eyes and placed a hand on the crystal's smooth top.   
  
At first nothing happened. Sonic opened his eyes, looked around, then down at the emerald. To his surprise, the inside had lit up, the very core glowing as if a lightbulb had been inserted there. A stream of something--light? electricity?--was extended upward to meet his hand on the inside of the emerald. He stared at it, entranced. This was the most bizarre thing yet.   
  
Suddenly the Master emerald flashed out, overwhelming his senses with light. Tails shielded his eyes. Something weird was going to happen.   
  
Sonic flung his arms over his face and turned away from the intense brightness. His eyes fell on the super emeralds, all of which were shining like fire, triggered by the Master. The closest one, the green, suddenly directed all its light to Sonic, as if someone had aimed a floodlight. The orange one did the same. Then the blue. One by one all seven stones focused their energy on the blue hedgehog, blinding him. But it was more than just light. There was a burning intensity, like radiation, that made it impossible to stand against. For one moment all the gems brightened and the cave was illuminated fully, light reflecting from the polished floor and scattered crystal formations. Then it drained away. The gems returned to their old glow, and silence reigned once more.   
  
Tails crept out from behind the pedestal, eyes readjusting to the dimness. "Well," he said, voice echoing through the cavern, "that was totally strange. Did you see what it did, by any chance?"   
  
He walked up to Sonic. Sonic had been standing motionless since the light had faded, staring down at his cupped hands. Now he looked up, dazed. "T-Tails. It gave me--look what it gave me."   
  
Tails looked into his hands. Cradled gently against his palms were seven brightly-colored stones. They glowed softly, bearing witness to their power. "It's like I'm holding electricity," Sonic murmured, staring down at them. "My fingers are tingling."   
  
"But what are they?" Tails asked gingerly. "The chaos emeralds?"   
  
"N-no. These are shaped different. They're like--" He broke off and lifted one to the light. His eyes strayed to the big super emeralds, then back to the small gems. "Tails," he exclaimed, "these are super emeralds! Miniature supers! How cool--"   
  
Tails shook his head, mystified. "But ... how? And what happened to the chaos?"   
  
Sonic shrugged, unable to take his eyes from the jewels. "I donno, Tails. I just ... donno."   
  
After a while he pocketed them and dazedly teleported back to Lava Reef with Tails. It was a good while before he returned fully to his senses--he was in partial shock. 

* * *

  
  
I had run from Sonic.   
  
The humiliation of it filled my heart and mind.   
  
I had RUN from him! Just turned tail!   
  
Of course, I had been expecting him and his friend to be messily dead at the bottom of that shaft. Finding them alive was a shock.   
  
But then, to simply run ...?   
  
I entered the biggest cavern in the Lava Reef mines. It was the massive hollow in the heart of the island; the roof was a mile up, supported by seven gigantic stone pillars. They had been built several generations back by the other guardians, but had been slowly covered with flowstone, so they appeared natural.   
  
I barreled across the stone floor, barely remembering to avoid the nasty sharp places. They were the spots where the liquid lava had cooled in ripples, forming sharp ridges that would cut and slice the soles of your shoes. A fall usually meant cut hands and knees.   
  
I had run and was still running. I kicked myself mentally for it, but I had to. Lava Reef was dangerously close to Hidden Palace; there were several old tunnels that led straight to it. The emerald chamber was sealed, of course, but access from Lava Reef was easy, if you knew which walls were the weakest.   
  
I would set a trap. I stopped a moment and stared thoughtfully around the huge cavern. A little way off was a gigantic fissure in the floor. A big earthquake had cracked it open a few years back, and it was slowly expanding. It was now about fifty feet wide, and most of the floor was molten lava. Yes. If I could somehow shove Sonic and Tails into it ...   
  
A plan appeared in my mind. Oh yeah, it would work great. Sonic and Tails were totally gullible and would walk into the most obvious of traps. I'd get 'em as soon as they got close ... 

* * *

  
  
Metal Sonic was seated on a ledge near the roof of the monstrous cave, watching Knuckles far below like a hungry hawk. His scanner didn't work too well when tons of solid rock blocked its path, but he could see Knuckles clearly, and knew Sonic and Tails were somewhere near.   
  
Quietly he reported in to Robotnik, who was somewhere on the other side of Lava Reef. "Hello, Doctor. Yes. I have all three in sight. Knuckles isn't leaving the big cave; I think he thinks Sonic and Miles are chasing him, the moron. No, they won't be in your sector for a good while, it seems. You have located Hidden Palace? No? We MUST be getting close; I am picking high-energy readings on a cave not far from here ... Ah, you haven't made it there yet. Well, keep me informed. Do you wish me to attack the echidna? ... I see. Very well, I will not. Mecha out."   
  
The robot stared at Knuckles, a red speck against the black floor. His metal hands curled into fists. "Not yet, at least," he muttered under his breath. His crimson eyes brightened. "But I WILL spill your blood, Knuckles." 

* * *

  
  
  
  
  
  
About thirty minutes later Sonic and Tails emerged from the tunnel and stood staring at the huge cave. At first they couldn't grasp it. It was overwhelming, like standing on the lip of the Grand Canyon. The floor was solid, but were those distant pillars real? Was it all somehow a gigantic poster?   
  
Slowly they made their way out into the cavern. "Wow," Tails said. He searched his mind for something more eloquent, and added, "Gee."   
  
Sonic blinked his eyes and shook his head. "Why do things always have to be so huge? It's just an island, for crying out loud." He looked down at the floor, trying to get his bearings. After a moment he said, "Well, let's cross this thing. We'll see if it's as big as it looks."   
  
Moving around had helped Sonic get over his daze, but he wasn't himself. He was unusually quiet as they walked along, and seemed content to move slowly. That in itself was a signal he was not all right. Tails kept tossing uneasy glances at him, worried. After a while he built up the nerve to ask, "Sonic, what's the matter?"   
  
Sonic glanced at him, then back down at the ground. "Nothin'. Why?"   
  
"You're acting funny."   
  
Sonic shrugged. "I guess I am." A pause. "I keep thinking about those little super emeralds. Do I use 'em like the chaos? What do they do?" He snapped his metallic fingers. "I hate these things. If there were only some way to undo it ..."   
  
They talked little more. The hardship of their adventures was wearing on them, and it was good to walk in silence for a change.   
  
Running parallel to their course and to the left was the big fissure in the floor. Neither of them paid much attention to it until they neared the far end of the cave. There it began to snake toward them, narrowing. The rough basalt floor began to have cracks across its surface, as if it had suffered in the same quake that had formed the chasm. The ceiling above dropped lower, and the high wall curved nearer.   
  
At last they came to a steep hill of loose rock, as if a section of the wall had collapsed outward. As their eyes moved up it, they saw the remains of a tunnel in the rock, partly blocked but passable.   
  
"Do we go up there?" Sonic asked his sidekick, his voice betraying his weariness.  
  
  
  
Tails shrugged. "I don't care. One more obstacle can't hurt."   
  
They looked up at the passage again, just in time to see Knuckles appear inside it, sneer down at them, then retreat back inside.   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other. "Maybe he knows a way out," Tails exclaimed.   
  
Sonic nodded, eyes showing some of the old sparkle. "Yeah, let's follow him!"   
  
They charged up the slope. It seemed to have been made recently, as most of the rocks had that freshly-broken look, and bounced and shifted beneath their feet. It was pretty solid, however, and was not difficult to climb.   
  
It wasn't until they were three-fourths of the way up that they realized Knuckles's scheme.   
  
The scarlet echidna stepped out of the mouth of the tunnel, folded his arms and leered at them. Sonic and Tails automatically stopped and watched him warily. Sonic, faintly hopeful, called, "Do you know a way out of here?"   
  
"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies," he snorted. His resentful scowl told him not to ask any favors.   
  
  
  
The three exchanged stares for a few minutes, Sonic and Tails trying to be alert for anything. At last Sonic said, "So, Knux, whaddya want?"   
  
Knuckles nonchalantly swung his dreadlocks out of his face. "Oh, nothing. Except that you knocked me down and hurt me." He glared at them. "See, I don't forgive things like that. I figured I'd do the same to you--until I found a better way. HA! Better get moving, you cretins."   
  
He crouched behind a monstrous boulder that was sitting at the top of the heap and shoved at it. Sonic realized what he was doing before Tails did. His eyes widened in terror. He grabbed Tails's hand and yelled, "Run for it!"   
  
Even as they began to move, Knuckles pried the boulder loose and sent it tumbling after them. Then, his voice nearly drowned in the crashing of the four-thousand-pound stone, they heard him laugh manically.   
  
The two tore down the rough slope, trying to get clear of the boulder's path. Its weight and motion jarred loose smaller rocks and boulders, and a regular rockslide was beginning. Sonic kept a tight hold on Tails's hand as he had in Flying Battery, and they steadied each other during their headlong flight.   
  
At last the floor was reached, but the rock was still coming. Sonic had a dim idea that they were running toward the trench in the ground, but could only think of getting out of the stone's path. Each time it bounced and hit the floor he felt his teeth rattle. He risked a glance over his shoulder--it was gaining on them. "Run faster," he gasped to Tails, nearly turning his ankle on a dip in the floor. "It's too close--"   
  
And then the ground yawned open before them, a black ravine with glowing red lava in the bottom. The heat struck them in the face as they skidded to a halt at the edge. "No good!" Sonic cried. "Let's go that w--" He stopped. They were standing on a spike that jutted out over the chasm. There was no way to go, and back meant going toward the rapidly advancing boulder ... they were trapped.   
  
"Sonic, what do we do?" Tails cried in terror.   
  
Sonic looked over his shoulder. "Jump!"   
  
They leaped clear of the ledge and into space. The boulder smashed down on the ledge, breaking it off with the impact, and together they toppled into the abyss.   
  
The chasm was deep, and they had an agonizing four seconds to fall. Sonic could see the lava below--a blurred red mass, like blood. He wondered how long it took you to melt completely, and if it hurt the whole time, or if you went into shock and it passed quickly. As the lava floor drew nearer, Sonic thought of his friend ... no, he couldn't let Tails die like that. His mind raced here and there, like a rabbit looking for a hole, trying to find some way of escape. The super emeralds! Maybe they could save them ...   
  
In the remaining second before the lava claimed them, Sonic dug out all seven of the super emeralds and flung them away, into the lava. The reaction was instanious; so much in fact, that Sonic and Tails were rendered senseless on impact.   
  
The emeralds cooled the lava just beneath Sonic and Tails, forming a black, hardened crust that they smacked down on. From that little island, like frosting on a cake, the blackness swept across the lava's surface, meeting both walls and sweeping down the length of the fissure, cooling the lava instaniously. Then the coolness worked downward from the crust, solidifying the lava for several hundred feet underground.   
  
Sonic slowly came to and opened his eyes. He was lying on rough, warm rock. Where was he? What had happened to the lava? He sat up and looked around. The walls of the chasm stretched up above him, zig- zagging against the background of the high cave ceiling. But there wasn't any lava anywhere; it was all black. Steaming in some places, yes, but completely solidified.   
  
His eyes found Tails, lying motionless on the black floor a few yards away. He jumped to his feet and hurried over to his sidekick. Tails was still breathing, but unconscious. Sonic cradled him in his arms and rocked back and forth a little, eyes scanning the stone walls for a way of escape. Tails would be able to fly out, he was sure, but he wasn't sure if Tails could airlift him. They hadn't tried an airlift since Tails had been shot, and Sonic hated to ask him to. But what if they were trapped down here? That Knuckles ... For the first time Sonic felt real hostility toward him. He had only tried to hurt them, before--this had been an attempt at homicide. Sonic ground his teeth. Knux would pay for this, and at their very next meeting ...   
  
Suddenly, from all around, the rock began to groan and creak. Sonic felt a distinct sinking feeling, as if the rock were settling downward. To his surprise, a short distance off, seven glowing points of light surfaced from the stone and lay on its surface--the super emeralds. So he hadn't sacrificed them, after all.   
  
As he looked at the supers, he noticed something else; a passage had appeared in the wall. It had been covered by the lava before, and was now visible. Sonic felt a cool breath of air touch his face. It smelled musty, as if the tunnel had been closed up for a long time.   
  
Tails stirred in Sonic's arms and opened his eyes. "Hi, Sonic," he mumbled. "Where are we?" He sat up and shook his head as Sonic explained about what the emeralds had done.   
  
Sonic rose and gathered up the little supers. They weren't even scratched. He pocketed them and returned to Tails. The orange fox slowly, painfully, climbed to his feet. "Ugh, I thought we were goners. How do we get out of this place?"   
  
Sonic pointed out the passage. "There's air moving out of it, so it can't be blocked. You want to check it out?"   
  
Tails shrugged. "Sure. Might as well see if we can get out of this place."   
  
And they entered the passage, little suspecting what awaited them at the far end. Chapter 11 Hidden Palace ___________________________________________________________________ The tunnel opened out into a huge oblong cavern. It was not as large as the one they had just left; about the size of an auditorium. It was lit by softly glowing green crystals, like in Hidden Palace. But it was not the cave itself that was impressive--it was the far wall.   
  
The wall had been carved and molded into a huge palace entrance. Huge stone steps led up to the wide doorway, and massive pillars towered up on either hand, three on a side. The cave was dusty and dry, as if no one had been there in years.   
  
Sonic and Tails slowly advanced to the temple-like entrance, staring. As they drew closer, they could see the entire thing was made of polished green marble, like the floor in the emerald chamber. The doorway no longer had doors in it, but the sides and top were richly engraved with fine, scroll-like writing. The top was too far up to see clearly, but the left and right sides bore examining. On the left was the strange writing they had seen in Marble Gardens and Sandopolis. But on the right was readable text.   
  
"Cool," Sonic muttered, aware of how his voice echoed. "Tails, listen to this. 'Today, March twenty-third, year twenty-four sixty- five, this Palace was completed. It is to be a gathering place for all Echidnas, and a school for those who desire to learn the uses of the power stones.' But look, down here it looks like they erased what else was here and wrote something else. Listen to what THIS says." He gingerly touched the cold stone, following the words as he read them.   
  
"'This day, October nineteenth, year twenty-five ought-five, this Palace was hidden. The main entrance had been sealed and buried, and all access is restricted to all but the current Guardians and their children. Because of the great evil the emeralds may produce in the wrong hands, all but one Echidna family have been driven from the Island. These few will continue to tend it indefinitely. The prophecy must be fulfilled!'"   
  
Sonic looked at Tails, who had been reading over his shoulder. "This place was only open forty years. Why? Did somebody try to take the supers?"   
  
Tails shrugged. "You're askin' ME? I have no idea. What 'prophecy'?"  
  
  
  
Sonic looked back at the inscription. "I donno." He sighed. "Well, let's go in."   
  
As they stepped across the threshold, the blue hedgehog froze. "Uh oh. Tails, it said 'this Palace was hidden.' Hidden Palace! Is that what this place is?"   
  
Tails didn't answer. Sonic glanced around and realized why.   
  
Before them stretched a wide corridor of smooth stone. The walls and floor were black, but that only served to heighten the beauty of its contents. The place was a garden of crystals. Huge red, green and blue clumps shot up here and there like stone ferns, geometric and startling. Many of them had veins of light in their cores.   
  
Sonic and Tails moved among them on a carefully maintained path, marvelling at the beauty and wonder of it. They noticed single formations, set apart from the other clusters. These were obviously specially grown crystals. There were many different colors in a single cluster, and the very largest crystals had been cut off cleanly at the base. The cave smelled of ammonia, giving one a sharp feeling at the back of the throat.   
  
The crystals were very much alive, as was shown by the pools of water around some clusters. They were formed by the chemicals and growing fast. And, as most bore the light inside them, it was like walking through a neon-lighting display.   
  
Dazzled and struck dumb by the strange beauty, Sonic and Tails reached the end of the passage and stepped into another cavern. It was not very large--perhaps twenty feet across--but had no roof. The walls simply climbed higher and higher, cathedral-like, lit with the green crystals all the way. Sonic and Tails tipped their heads all the way back, eyes travelling up. Far, far up--miles, it seemed--was a single bright patch of daylight. It gave them the sensation of being buried alive, enclosed and suffocated by tons and tons of black rock--   
  
It wasn't worth thinking about. Sonic touched Tails's good arm and their eyes met. They were thinking the same thing; when would they ever get out? They seemed to have been in darkness for years ...   
  
There was another passage in the far wall. They trotted over to it and entered, wishing they hadn't seen that daylight. It seemed to have dimmed their spirits.   
  
But this low-ceilinged cave soon made them forget all but what it contained.   
  
One whole wall was draped with a brightly colored tapestry. It only took them a second to recognize it; was the picture they had seen in Marble Gardens--the grey monster being confronted by the blue thing with the flame around it. But it was woven in cloth--it seemed the past guardians had been intent on preserving it.   
  
In the middle of this room, fists raised, was the current Guardian. 

* * *

  
  
If it took bare-fisted confrontation to stop those two, then I would do it. I could feel that old, horrible rage beginning to consume me, but swallowed it momentarily and remained calm.   
  
Sonic raised one hand. "Knuckles." I took it he meant it to be a greeting, but his tone was icy. His eyes were cold, too. He moved forward, putting himself between me and Tails. I remained in my fighting stance, ready for anything. In fact, I was welcoming anything. Sonic lowered his head. "So, It's come to this, has it?" His voice was barely above a whisper.   
  
I nodded, my adrenaline beginning to rush. "Now we fight to the finish." I sounded detached--at least I still had SOME control over my voice. I kept going, finding it encouraging to speak my thoughts to my rival. "YOU invaded MY island. YOU stole MY emeralds. And now YOU'VE infiltrated MY Hidden Palace. YOU will pay MY price." 

* * *

  
  
Sonic could feel his stomach doubled into a hard knot. Now that it had come down to it, he was almost afraid. The echidna was much stronger than he was, and-- "Sonic," Tails whispered, touching his arm. "Sonic, what about the supers?"   
  
Sonic turned and looked at his friend. "I can't use 'em here, Tails. What about my hands?"   
  
"They didn't seem to matter when we charged the supers. C'mon. Just scare the jerk--he'll back down. Try it! I'll watch from the other room back there."   
  
The fox scurried away to safety. Sonic turned back to Knuckles, who looked a trifle uneasy at being made to wait. "Well Knux, I guess if _I_ have to pay YOUR price, I'll do it on MY ground. Let's make this match equal." Sonic pulled out the seven super emeralds. Knuckles's jaw dropped as Sonic lifted them above his head, drew a deep breath, and clashed them together.   
  
It seemed lightning had struck the cave. There was a blinding white flash and a buzzing roar, like a power arc. Tails ducked behind a protruding rock formation, and Knuckles shielded his eyes and turned away. The light vanished an instant later, and Sonic stood in the center of the room, transformed.   
  
All the spikes on his head and back stood up and out wildly, charged with energy. His entire body glowed and sparkled seven different colors. Large stars of energy soared away from his chest, spiraled above him, then faded away, some hitting the ground with a hiss.   
  
Sonic stood stock-still, temporarily blinded, wondering what in the world had happened to him. After a second his vision faded back in, enhanced twenty times. His eyesight matched that of a hawk's; he could now read a newspaper from ten miles away.   
  
He fixed his eagle-vision on Knuckles. "I donno what this is, but it's cool. Still wanna fight?" 

* * *

  
  
I stared at him. His power far surpassed that of Super Sonic. Could it be that he was now Hyper Sonic? Very few of my clan had ever gotten the super emeralds to work on them before they had been hidden and decharged, and becoming Hyper was something of a legend.   
  
But this was still Sonic. He didn't even know what he was doing. A sense of superiority came over me--I was still older and more experienced. And I had something that could challenge the power of the supers.   
  
I pulled out the chaos emeralds. They had no longer been needed once the last super had been charged, and were now in my hands--all of them. I lifted them above my head and looked Sonic in the eyes. "You're on."   
  
I clapped them together. 

* * *

  
  
Knuckles began to glow brightly, like the red chaos emerald. Sonic noticed the emeralds in orbit around him; they did that for whoever used them. Knux advanced on Sonic, pounding one fist against his palm. "Payback time, you little creep--"   
  
He jumped, Sonic blocked. They circled, shedding light on the floor and walls, watching each other. They clashed again, sparks flying in all directions as invincibility met invincibility. They separated, closed again, struggled, fought, then parted. Neither could hurt the other. The fight turned violent.   
  
Tails watched from around the corner, wideyed, feeling very small and frightened. The two rivals were taking advantage of their powers and abilities, and were getting hard to follow. Knuckles could glide in all directions at once, it seemed, then smack into Sonic fists-first. Sonic would take the blow, right himself, then fling Knuckles against the wall. There would be a dull thud--if not for being super it would have killed him. Knux would bounce to his feet and tackle Sonic. They would go down and wrestle like a couple of wildcats ...   
  
This struggle might have gone on indefinitely if not for a freak accident.   
  
Knuckles's fist caught Sonic right between the eyes and sent him flying. Sonic smashed into the rock pillar Tails was hiding behind, leaped to his feet with with a snarl and returned to the fray. Tails watched him a second, then happened to glance at the floor. Just in front of the pillar, where Sonic had fallen, lay the super emeralds. He had dropped them. They were glowing like live coals, still supplying Sonic's power. "What if Knux sees them?" Tails thought. On impulse he leaped out of hiding, snatched up the glowing gems and dodged back.   
  
The little fox crouched in the dimness of the tall cave, light spilling out of Sonic and Knuckles's arena. The emeralds held his eyes; he could not tear them away. Each one shown with a living, vivid light, warming his cold hands, making them tingle. He sensed they had more power then they were giving Sonic. It was contained, under wraps, waiting. Waiting for what?   
  
Tails had a vision of himself, powered by the emeralds; he could be anyone's equal, invincible, maybe even help Sonic! His shoulder wouldn't bother him ... Sonic always said you could feel no pain while you were invincible. Could he? Would it work for him?   
  
The young fox drew a deep breath, took four gems in one hand and three in the other, then clapped them together.   
  
Tails was jerked erect, power like he had never felt before flooding into his body, making him glow. It felt alien, as if something was consuming him from the outside in. At fist he panicked and dropped the stones, gasping. He looked down at his arms and legs, noticing how his fur and skin was glowing a bright yellow. Was this it? Was he hyper, too?   
  
A sound made him look around. Far above, from the patch of daylight in the top of the cave, came four tongues of fire, streaking down at him. Tails covered his head and ducked, half wondering how invincible he really was. The flames drew nearer, hot yellow--Tails squinted. His keen eyesight strengthened by the power of the emeralds, he gazed at them. They weren't flames. They were animals of some kind ... small in size, but glowing as bright as Tails himself.   
  
They shot downward, barely missed the floor and began flying in a tight circle around Tails's head. He stared at them. Birds. Something like cardinals, they all had thick beaks, crests on their large heads and bright black eyes. Their feathers shown like fire. Fascinated, Tails held out one hand. "Hi," he offered. Immediately the biggest bird landed on his arm. It wasn't heavy, but Tails could feel its power.   
  
"Hello," the bird chirped. "We are the Power Flickies, called to your dimension by a novice using the super emeralds. We will aid you and keep you from hurting yourself."   
  
"Cool," said Tails, carefully stroking its back. "Are you invincible?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Am I hyper?"   
  
"Nope. You're Super--uh, what's your name?"   
  
"Tails."   
  
"Okay, you're Super Tails."   
  
They were interrupted as Sonic and Knuckles slammed into the pillar Tails had been hiding behind. The blow shattered the rock, and the pillar collapsed outward. Tails leaped back as the rock clattered to the ground. The flickies, he noticed, moved with him. "Can you guys back off?" Tails asked them. "I'm gonna help Sonic. Knux is too much for him."   
  
"Oh no you don't," another of the birds said. "You're only super, not hyper. We'll do it. Do you want us to break them up?"   
  
"Yeah. They'll eventually kill each other."   
  
First, the four flickies swooped down and picked up the fallen super emeralds; three grabbed two apiece with their feet, and the leader picked up the last one. He began to shine blue as the super poured its energy into him. The others were flashing back and forth between the colors they carried. The leader chirped a command Tails couldn't make out, and they all swooped into the battle cave.   
  
The floor was littered with rocks the dueling pair had knocked from the walls. They were hard at it, moving so fast it was difficult to tell them apart. The birds dove at them, mixing with the fray, the power of the supers giving them strength. 

* * *

  
  
If we hadn't have been invulnerable, the fight wouldn't have been so long. But neither of us were hurt or even winded. I was getting somewhat discouraged. I mean, a fight is seeing how much damage you can inflict on your enemy before he gets in fair punch. Neither of us even had a scratch. If only he knew how much of an advantage he had ... he was handling himself as if he were still Super Sonic.   
  
We had tangled for the hundredth time, our rage matching blow for blow. I threw him off, but before we could recover a couple bright things attacked us. Literally. Two of these glowing things dove into my face, striking me with their wings, driving me to the floor. They were hyper, whatever they were, and knew exactly how to use their power. They shrieked and made a lot of noise, their hard little bodies striking my arms and face. They were attacking Sonic, too. 

* * *

  
  
Tails watched, clapping his hands gleefully. The power flickies were taking the fight out of the two, and rapidly. It wasn't long before both combatants had been driven to the floor under the relentless assault. Knuckles was trying to fight them off, but Sonic began to yell, "Tails, help! These things are vicious!"   
  
"Guys!" Tails called shrilly. "Leave Sonic alone and get Knuckles!" They obeyed instantly.   
  
Tails rushed to Sonic and helped him up. Sonic stared at him. "Little bro! What happened to you?"   
  
"I'm glowing with success!" Tails slapped his thigh. "Ha! That's a good one!"   
  
"Why are you glowing?"   
  
"The supers work on me. They called the power flickies to help me."   
  
Sonic turned and gazed toward Knuckles, who was now under double the attack. "Power flickies. Oh, you mean they're birds?"   
  
"Yeah. Um, do you think we should call them off?"   
  
"See if they can get the emeralds away from him."   
  
Tails whistled to get the flickies' attention. "Hey guys, get the chaos emeralds away from him!"   
  
"Continue the assault once he is disarmed?"   
  
"No, you'd kill him."   
  
"Okay."   
  
The little birds worked with unbelievable speed. In less than fifty seconds they had taken all seven of the emeralds, deactivated them and dropped them at the feet of their young master. Knuckles felt his power being stripped away and collapsed to the floor, waiting for the inevitable. He fully expected the birds to kill him as soon as he was normal, so it was a relief to find that they abandoned him as soon as he was helpless.   
  
Silence descended over the cave. Tails handed the supers back to Sonic and took possession of the chaos emeralds. The flickies returned to their orbit around Tails's head, and together they stood and watched Knuckles. 

* * *

  
  
I slowly sat up, feeling beaten and tired. My enemies were standing at the other end of the cave, looking like the power team. The glowing bird-things circled Tails's head protectively, all four of them watching me. I noticed Tails was holding my chaos emeralds. Sonic had all the supers, too ... they had finally proven themselves more than a match for me.   
  
I suppose I would have gotten up and fought them until the finish, but something happened that totally twisted my way of thinking inside out and upside down.   
  
The entire Hidden Palace shook, and a rumble echoed through. Earthquake? I jumped to my feet. It came again, knocking dust from the ceiling. I looked suspiciously toward Sonic and Tails, but they were looking around at the walls, bewildered as I.   
  
Then there came a crash from the cavern behind me. Now, if you were not the Guardian of the Floating Island, you would not have known there was a cavern behind me. The entrance had been sealed with a thin lid of stone, and all through our fight I had been careful not to let Sonic hit it. I ran to the wall in desperate silence and kicked a hole right through it. I took down the rest of it with my fists and leaped through.   
  
It was the emerald cave that contained the supers and the Master emerald. One look around revealed the gaping black hole in the wall at the far end of the cave. Someone was in here. I felt a hot fear rush through me. Who? Who was it?   
  
I got my answer as Dr. Robotnik's little utility ship swung up from behind the Master's pedestal. Attached to the bottom was a huge steel clamp. He flashed a triumphant grin at me from under his mustache and hovered over the Master. Was he going to ...?   
  
Yep, he was. I tore across the marble floor. Even as I reached him, the clamp lowered and attached securely to the Master emerald. I bounded up on the pedestal. I felt as if I were being torn in two. Doc had lied. He had lied to me all along! Furiously I attacked the clamp with my fists, screaming at Robotnik every name I could think of. It did no good. There was a sound like rock cracking (I can't tell you what it did to my already enraged system) and the Master emerald, bigger than I was, emerged from its bed of crystals. Ignoring me, Doc turned his ship and began to fly back the way he had come.   
  
I leaped off the pedestal and ran alongside. He couldn't take it away. No! He couldn't! My island would sink! I jumped into the air. My hands caught the smoothly cut edge of the immense gem, and I hung on. If he was going to take the Master, he was taking me, too.   
  
I felt the ship slow and hover in the middle of the cavern. I didn't know what he was doing, but I wasn't going to let go if _I_ could help it.   
  
I didn't see the metallic robot arms emerge from the sides of the ship, although I heard Sonic yell for me to let go. I only felt the needle-sharp tips for an instant as they touched either side of my head; then--I guess he electrocuted me. Everything went violently black, then white. I saw bright stars, colored snow and sparks. After a second or two, I blacked out and fainted. 

* * *

  
  
Knuckles collapsed in a heap on the polished floor. Sonic, still hyper, leaped around him. "Get Robotnik, Tails!" he shouted wildly. "If he gets away we're history!"   
  
Tails commanded the flickies to attack Robotnik's ship, then attacked, himself. Robotnik, seeing the two were both invincible, high- tailed it out of there, back through the hole he had made getting in. They followed as far as they could, but the tunnel ended in a ventilation shaft, and the ship made it up and out.   
  
Crestfallen, Sonic and Tails walked back into the emerald chamber. "Well," Sonic said glumly, "I guess it isn't hidden anymore."   
  
Knuckles was lying where he had fallen. Sonic deactivated himself and knelt beside him. Tails did the same. The flickies' glow faded away, leaving them a deep blue. They perched on one of the super emeralds and looked on in silence.   
  
Sonic felt Knuckles's wrist. "He's alive," he announced glumly. "I guess you could say we caught a minnow, but the big fish got away." His eyes moved to the Master emerald's empty pedestal.   
  
Tails followed his gaze. "Sonic ... are we going to die?"   
  
"No!" Sonic snapped. "Of course not! Just because the Master's gone and Knuckles is out of it, it ... it doesn't mean we're licked." His tone contradicted his words. He lowered his head.   
  
Tails moved over beside him. "It's okay, big bro. We'll call Slash--she'll get us out of here."   
  
Sonic looked up at his friend, tears glazing his eyes. "It's not that, Tails," he said, voice cracking. "I'm not worried about the island going down so much ... it's that we failed! Robotnik got the Master and got away. Even with the supers, I--I couldn't stop him. I'm a poor excuse for a hedgehog if I couldn't even keep him from leaving the room ...!" Sonic closed his eyes and tilted his head downward. Tails didn't know what to say. His friend's sense of defeat was too great.   
  
Knuckles began to come around. 

* * *

  
  
My brain was a whirl of lights, colors and sounds. It seemed I was caught in a whirlpool of noise and couldn't escape. But slowly, steadily, I began to resurface. The sounds corrected themselves first; two voices, Sonic and Tails. Then the lights and colors shakily fell back into their correct places. I was lying on the floor in Hidden Palace. My head hurt on either side, where the charges had entered my body. I felt rather sick.   
  
I lifted my head a little. Sonic and Tails, both quite normal- looking, were seated on the floor beside me. What had happened? I felt as if an eggbeater had been lowered into my brain and turned on. I looked at my former enemies. They looked very solemn, and Sonic's eyes were strangely shiny. Then I looked toward the Master emerald. The pedestal was empty.   
  
In a flash I remembered. An animal-like cry escaped me, and I dragged myself to my hands and knees. Sonic caught my arm. "It's no use," he said flatly. "He's gone."   
  
I sank back. Something within my chest was dying, sinking toward my socks. The island ... the island was doomed. As soon as the Master left the immediate vicinity, it would capsize. I had failed as guardian. The most precious of all the power stones had fallen into the hands of a dangerous enemy ...   
  
But as defeat overwhelmed me, the hatred of Sonic and Tails was vanishing. That red heat I had carried in my heart for so long was fading away. I had been wrong about them. Doc had lied to me about them. And, believing him, I had done terrible things to them.   
  
I had to put things right, somehow. Even if the island was lost. I lifted my head and looked at Sonic and Tails. Tails returned my stare calmly, but Sonic was staring vacantly at the floor. His face reflected everything I was feeling--shock, fear, guilt, helplessness.   
  
"Sonic," I began. Pain flashed through my head, and I closed my eyes a moment. When I opened them again, Sonic and Tails were both looking at me. "You guys," I began again. No pain this time. I continued. "I'm really sorry ..."   
  
"I'm the one who should apologize," Sonic said quietly, dropping his eyes to the floor. "I could have stopped him, and I didn't. I didn't stop him ..."   
  
"You mean _couldn't_," Tails corrected. "Sorry Knux, but we COULDN'T stop him. He was out before we got close."   
  
I guess my face registered how I took that news, for Sonic elbowed Tails viciously.   
  
An awkward moment passed. I gathered my thoughts and spoke them aloud. "I'm sorry. I didn't really believe Doc at first. I somehow thought that maybe he was wrong, at first. I didn't want you to get hurt, really, I didn't." I glanced at Sonic's gloved hands, then at Tails's bandaged shoulder. "Sonic, I didn't mean to ... robotize ... you." It was still a new word back then. "I thought the beam did something else. I'm sorry." I kept my eyes on my folded hands as I said this, then looked up. He was staring at me, but not for the reason I thought.   
  
"Can you un-do it?"   
  
I didn't know, and said so.   
  
His face fell. "Well, I guess this throws a major monkey-wrench in everything. I won't be able to so much as touch a chaos emerald again, ever."   
  
I had felt bad before; that made me feel worse. But before I could say anything, the floor beneath our feet trembled slightly. One of the power birds chirped from nearby, "We must flee this place. The great emerald is now out of our reach."   
  
We jumped to our feet. Tails looked frightened, but Sonic's eyes were dead. He moved slowly, as if his mind were far, far away. "I've killed the island," he murmured. "It's all my fault ..."   
  
"No," I said with a sick feeling, "I'm the one to blame. I should have realized Doc was lying--"   
  
"Look," Tails broke in, "I don't care who's fault it is. Let's get outta here! We don't stand a chance underground!"   
  
He had a point, although I didn't have much to live for once the island sank.   
  
I led them back through the hole in the wall. I felt as if I were moving in a dream--my body was doing the right things, but my head wasn't attached. Some sort of shock, I guess. Maybe exhaustion. Sonic still looked exactly the same--brain-dead, defeated. Tails was carrying the birds on his head and shoulders; guess they had decided to come with us.   
  
We stepped into the small cave with the distant ceiling. I glanced up at the point of light and said, "That's our way out."   
  
They looked up in disbelief. Sonic's beaten attitude didn't change, but Tails was feeling far from whipped. "What do you want us to do? Fly? I can't fly that high."   
  
"Nope. We'll use this." I was trying to be cheerful, but it was rather difficult. Before long I would lose everything. I was beginning to feel sick ... how I imagined the people on the Titanic must have felt.   
  
I knelt on the floor, slipped my fingers through a niche in the stone and tugged. A light wood panel slid aside, revealing the reason the high cave existed. It was a specialized teleporter--a transporter. It would carry us up and out. I reached down along the side of the thick crystal lens and cranked a dial all the way to the right. "There," I said as I stood up. "Now only the sky's the limit."   
  
We joined hands and stepped onto the lens.   
Chapter 12  
Sky Sanctuary   
  
_____________________________________________________________________   
  
The beam carried the three up, up and up. The cave shot by, then they were out and the island was falling away below. There were in a bubble of complete silence, but all around the beam was a rushing, roaring sound. "Where the heck are we going?" Sonic said, showing a little more interest in life.   
  
"Like I said," Knuckles replied cheerfully, "the sky's the limit." But he stared down at the Floating Island with sadness in his eyes.   
  
A cloud swished by, then another. "We aren't going into orbit, are we?" Tails queried nervously.   
  
Knuckles shook his scarlet head. "Nope. You'll see in a minute."   
  
Another cloud engulfed them, plunging them into grey haziness. "Okay," Knuckles said. "Hang on, you two. We're about to land." He grabbed their hands and gazed upward. Sonic and Tails did the same, noticing that the transporter was slowing down.   
  
"We're not gonna freefall, are we?" Sonic asked.   
  
The echidna looked at him quizzically. "You don't think I'd do all this if I was gonna kill ya, do you?"   
  
The beam faded away suddenly. They were still surrounded by thick grey fog, but they could feel something solid beneath their feet. The air was startlingly cool after being in the warm underground for so long. "Where are we?" Tails asked faintly, holding Sonic and Knuckles's hands for all he was worth. The fog was so thick he could just barely see their outlines.   
  
"Stand still," Knuckles commanded. "The fog will clear in a minute."   
  
"But where are we?" Tails persisted.   
  
"Sky Sanctuary," Knuckles replied.   
  
Slowly the grey walls around them faded to white. Overhead became tinted with blue. Patches appeared, and a faint breeze could be felt as the cloud swept away. In the misty light, they could see they were standing on a yellow brick platform. Moss and creeping vines grew all over, their roots squeezed between the bricks.   
  
"Can we move yet?" Sonic wanted to know.   
  
Knuckles shook his head. "Not yet. It's not safe until you can see the edges of the platform. The guardrails rotted off a long time ago."   
  
A few more minutes passed, and the air grew clearer. Sonic and Tails looked around. The floating platform seemed to be on a level with the clouds. The sky above and around was rapidly becoming the purest shade of blue imaginable. The air was clear and pierced straight to the bottom of their lungs.   
  
Shafts of golden sunlight struck down, intensifying all color, burning away the last of the mist. Sonic noticed Tails's fur looked frosted--each hair was beaded with fine droplets. Sonic and Knuckles were drenched as well.   
  
Wordlessly Knuckles flung his wet hair out of his eyes and walked away. Sonic and Tails glanced at each other, shrugged and followed.   
  
The echidna led them across the broad platform. It was built in segments, and each had a certain amount of flexibility. Because of this, the cloud beneath could somehow support it. A closer look at the clouds all around revealed the other platforms, some narrow, some broad, some sporting the remains of great stone buildings. Everything was covered in moss and slender vines. Somehow, it reminded Sonic of Marble Gardens and Sandopolis ... He doubted that any of it would hold together without the island below supplying the power of the Master emerald.   
  
Knuckles stopped and looked around. They had reached the edge of the platform. Before and below spread the blue-green ocean, the mainland hazy in the distance. Other islands were visible on the horizon. It took the breath away to realize how high they were.   
  
Tails stepped back involuntarily. He looked queasy. "Uh, Sonic," he murmured, "we're like, a looong way up."   
  
Sonic nodded, agreeing. He too stepped back. Knuckles smirked at them, but not unkindly, as he would have before. "Aw, ya get used to it. Watch this."   
  
To their horror, he dove off the edge of the platform. But instead of falling, his thick dreadlocks caught the air like an open umbrella, lifting him through the air. He glided like a hanglider across open space, and landed lightly on a platform several dozen feet away. There he turned, gave them a thumbs-up, then knelt and fiddled with something on the platform. A moment later a thin catwalk thrust out of the cloud beneath him and extended until it locked into their platform. Knuckles beckoned to them.   
  
Sonic inched across first, and was followed by Tails. Neither could keep from staring into the vast depths below their feet. Knuckles, seeing their vertigo, walked out halfway to help them across. "Nothin' to it," he told them as they stepped onto the other platform.   
  
"Right," Sonic replied. "That's easy for you to say."   
  
Cool breezes came wafting across the platform, scented faintly by the moss and greens. It seemed odd to be on a level with the clouds, which smoked up all around. There was something dream-like about it. Knuckles stood with them and looked around. After a moment he said, "I never thanked you guys for helping me out in the Ice Cap. I'd like to do that before I forget."   
  
"Oh, you're welcome," Tails said.   
  
Sonic added, "It was a good thing, too. We wouldn't be here otherwise."   
  
The red echidna looked at them thoughtfully. "You guys wouldn't be hungry, would you?"   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other and nodded. "We haven't had anything to eat since ... Mushroom Hill," Sonic said weakly.   
  
Knuckles gave him a pitying look. "Good grief, that was two days ago. Well, come on. I've got something that'll brace you up."   
  
He led them to a low stone building in the center of the stone platform. It was grown over with ivy and moss, but did not look as ruined as the rest of the Sky Sanctuary. They stepped inside. It was about as big as a good-sized shed. Moss padded the floor, and relief carvings adorned the walls. There was nothing else in the building but a tall stone urn in the corner. It was the urn Knuckles was interested in.   
  
He walked to it, lifted the lid and pulled out a dipper. He waved Sonic and Tails forward. "One drink each," he said, filling the dipper and handing it to Sonic.   
  
Sonic took it. It looked like clear water, but his recent adventures had taught him that looks were deceiving. "What is it?" he asked gingerly.   
  
"It's called 'Ent-Wine'," Knuckles replied. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you. It's not alcoholic or anything. Drink it."   
  
Slowly Sonic obeyed. At first it tasted like water, but by the second swallow it was more like liquid gold, or honey. He was reminded of how the woods smelled in springtime, of fresh water, of damp earth after the snow melts. By the time the dipper was empty, he felt like he had eaten a six-course dinner.   
  
Knuckles watched him with a grin. "Good, ain't it?" He filled the dipper again. "Here, Tails. Your turn."   
  
The young fox hesitantly took the dipper, watching Sonic. "What's it taste like?" he asked nervously.   
  
Sonic fondled the taste in his mouth, searching for words. "Like how the Floating Island smelled when we got there."   
  
Tails's ears came forward. "Gosh." He drank slowly, eyes brightening. As he finished, he licked his lips and said, "Boy, I think that was the most exciting thing that's happened to me yet."   
  
Sonic agreed, and Knuckled chuckled. Knux drank a dipperful, himself, then replaced the dipper and closed the urn.   
  
"What was that stuff?" Sonic asked. He felt re-vitalized, such as he hadn't felt since the first day, before the super emeralds. Knuckles shrugged and folded his arms. "Family secret," he said. "We learned it a long time ago. You make it with the emeralds, water and some roots that grow up here. I like to keep some on hand--it's faster than eating. And just as good for you."   
  
They stepped back into the cool outdoors. Knuckles walked to the edge of the platform and looked down. Sonic and Tails joined him. The Floating Island was below, and didn't appear to be sinking at all. "It will, eventually," Knuckles said, as if reading their thoughts. He bowed his head and turned away, but not before Sonic and Tails had seen the raw pain in his eyes.   
  
After a moment they heard him murmur, "I have a confession to make."   
  
"Fire away," Sonic said.   
  
Knux turned to face them, hands dangling limply at his sides. "I stole your bi-plane," he said simply.   
  
Sonic and Tails stared at him. "What did you say?" Sonic blurted.   
  
"I stole it," the echidna repeated. "It didn't burn."   
  
Sonic and Tails looked at each other, then at Knuckles. "Knux, you big creepo," Sonic said, a huge grin creeping across his face. "I never thought I'd thank somebody for stealing something. Where is it?"   
  
Knuckles looked away. "Well, that's the bad news. Doc put it on the Death Egg."   
  
"Oh."   
  
Silence a moment.   
  
Tails said, "Let's go get it."   
  
"Can't," Sonic said glumly. "Last time I boarded it, it was as a stowaway on his cruiser. The thing's impenetrable."   
  
Another pause. The only sound was the sighing of the breeze across the platform.   
  
"There IS a way." Knuckles's eyes were suddenly alight. "I just had a brainwave. Listen. You two can become super and hyper, right?"   
  
"Duh, yeah."   
  
"That means you can both fly."   
  
Sonic and Tails exchanged glances. They were beginning to see his point. "And?" Sonic said.   
  
"And," Knuckles finished, "I'm a complete idiot." He slapped his forehead. "Gee! When Death Egg launches, it goes straight up. It'll come right by us! You guys can hitch a ride easy."   
  
"Is there a way to board from the outside?"   
  
"Sure. You know the docking bay on the eastern side? It's right under the mustache," Knux added with a snicker. "Access is easy through there." 

* * *

  
  
As the three made plans, they were unaware they were being watched. A certain red-eyed robot was perched on a platform three clouds away, watching and listening with his equipment. "Yesss, Knuckles, you ARE an idiot. You are selling them straight into our hands. I would relish killing all three of you." He turned on his internal intercom. "Sir? They are planning to board the battle station. No, not Knuckles. He will remain here, the fool. May I please, please attack him, as soon as the others leave? Thank you, sir. It will be a great honor." 

* * *

  
  
Fifteen minutes later found the intrepid three on the far side of the Sky Sanctuary, watching and listening to the Death Egg launch. Knuckles was correct; it was launched straight up. As they watched the grey sphere rise toward them, they noticed the rocket-flames were a brilliant yellow-green, instead of orange.   
  
"Doc's already using the Master," Knuckles said grimly, clasping his hands behind his back and leaning dangerously out into space. "It's so powerful ..."   
  
"Knux," Sonic said. A horrible thought had just struck him. "Could he use the Master as a laser crystal?"   
  
Knuckles whirled, all the blood drained from his face. "Don't even say it!"   
  
"But could he?" Sonic persisted, alarmed at Knuckles's behavior. "He could build some powerful doomsday weapons, couldn't he?"   
  
Knuckles turned away. "You don't understand," he growled into the cool air. "If he builds any, it will be using MY blueprints."   
  
"You--you mean YOU--"   
  
"Yeah." The echidna turned back, eyes dark with anger at himself. "_I_ designed weapons for him. Doomsday weapons. I was just playing around, 'cause I knew he'd need a power source like the Master emerald to make them work. But now he had one. So if he takes over Mobius, it'll be MY fault. _I_ helped him!"   
  
His voice was abruptly drowned out by the roar of rocket-engines. They turned. Death Egg, silver and sinister, was slowly rising above the clouds. Sonic watched it silently, body rigid. As soon as speech was possible again, he snarled, "No Knux, it will be MY fault. I'm gonna go up there and get the Master back. If I fail, it will be because I will have died trying."   
  
He looked at his sidekick. "Tails, you can stay here if you want."   
  
Tails shook his head emphatically. "No way! I've toughed it out this far. I'm stickin' it 'til the end."   
  
"Good. Ya got grit, kiddo."   
  
Sonic turned to Knuckles and thrust out a hand. "Thanks for helpin' us, Knux. I guess this is goodbye."   
  
Knuckles shook his hand, noticing the difference in their hand sizes. "Thanks for being on my side, even if I don't deserve it. And this is my goodbye, too. If--when you get back--" he swallowed. "--and I'm not around, you'll know that Doc retaliated. He never lets a traitor survive."   
  
Sonic slowly withdrew his hand. "You mean we might never see each other again?"   
  
"Right, buddyroe. I won't have much to live for, anyhow, once the island goes down." Again, the deep grief flashed through the echidna's eyes. Sonic saw and felt a sharp pang. His new-found friend might soon lose everything, possibly even his life. He patted the echidna on the back. "Maybe it won't go down."   
  
Knuckles looked at him dully. "What's gonna keep it up?"   
  
Sonic looked down and didn't answer.   
  
Knuckles pushed him gently. "Get a move on, you two. Death Egg won't stay there forever."   
  
Sonic nodded, the glanced at Tails. Tails stepped forward and held out the chaos emeralds. "Here, Knux. We both run off the supers."   
  
Knuckles shook his head. "No. Look at what happened last time I took them. Besides, the supers can't supply double power for very long. Don't lose them, now."   
  
Sonic and Tails charged up as Knuckles watched. Just as before, Sonic became hyper and Tails super. The power flickies (who had flown away into the Sky Sanctuary when they arrived) returned to be his guardians. Together they waved goodbye to Knuckles, then soared off toward the imposing Death Egg. 

* * *

  
  
  
  
A pair of crescent red eyes watched the glowing specks recede into the distance. "Once they are too far away to hear his screams, I will act," the robot muttered. "Prepare to die with your island, Knuckles." 

* * *

  
  
A pair of green eyes were also watching Sonic and Tails out of sight. "You befriended Knuckles at last," she murmured. "And Metal Sonic is all set to kill him." She turned to face the place the robot was hiding. "You may try, Mecha, but anyone who attacks my friends will pay the price. MY price."   
Chapter 13   
Death Egg  
___________________________________________________________________   
  
  
  
Sonic and Tails located the docking bay Knuckles had spoken of. It was far down the ship's side; almost underneath. They landed cautiously, found a door, electrocuted the lock and stepped in.   
  
They entered a long, narrow corridor between exposed machinery. Most of it was running; pistons going up and down, wheels and bars turning rapidly, nameless things moving in and out. The air reeked of grease and exhaust. "Decharge!" Sonic called over the racket. "I wouldn't mind taking this mess down, but we have to find the Master emerald."   
  
Tails obeyed. The flickies faded into their natural blue and flew out the open exit door. "Frankly," Tails said, watching them go, "I like being invincible."   
  
Sonic's multi-colored glow faded to indigo. "I know," he agreed, "but it has its disadvantages. Let's go."   
  
They cautiously made their way down the narrow avenue, stepping around turning gears and ducking under great swaths of hanging cable. After fifty or sixty feet they came to a heavy door in a thick frame, such as those found in submarines. It took both of them to turn the big wheel and open it.   
  
On the other side was a huge open space with a catwalk leading across it. Sonic ventured out a few steps, scanning for danger. But there was nothing but space. They had entered the core section of the Death Egg.   
  
It was a monstrous spherical hollow, the sides studded with lights, catwalks, doorways, machinery, windows and framing. A massive metal pillar pillar soared up the center, supporting the inside of the ship. The pillar was probably more than a hundred feet in diameter. About halfway up was a section with brightly lit windows. "Nerve center," Sonic said to Tails, his voice echoing in the vast cavern. "Ten to one that's where the Master is."   
  
A tiny security camera on the walkway railing rotated and focused on the two. Neither noticed it. It followed their movements as they walked on by. A light on its side began to flash, signalling a certain robot.   
  
"Yeah," Sonic was saying thoughtfully, "I saw this open place last time, but I didn't cross it. I think I was in that side, over there."   
  
"Well, _I_ don't like this place," Tails said. "It's freaky. Too big to be a ship. Too big, period. Can we fly out to the pillar and get the Master?"   
  
"Nope," Sonic shook his head. "Only way to get in there is to climb up inside of it. C'mon. I want to see if we can find the bi- plane."   
  
They crossed the catwalk, their feet clanking on the metal grating. They came to a doorway, stepped through and began to pick their way down the hallway. Doors were set at regular intervals all the way down its length. The lights were few, turning the corridor into a long, dim, cave-like place.   
  
Sonic watched the names of the doors as they went by. "Engine 25C," he read aloud. "Engine 25B. Fuel. Robot Maintenance. Engine 25A. Hanger." Sonic stopped and touched Tails's good arm. "Hanger. That's where they keep planes and stuff, little bro!"   
  
"Cool!" Tails said, eyes lighting up. "Let's go in!"   
  
"Right," Sonic replied. He twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open.   
  
Glaring at them from the darkened hall beyond were a pair of red- crescent eyes.   
  
Sonic tried to slam the door shut, but Metal Sonic caught it halfway. He swung it open as the fox and hedgehog backed away. "We meet again," the robot purred softly. "But this time you will not escape so easily."   
  
"Oh yeah?" Sonic challenged. "You'll hafta catch us first. Run, Tails!" He grabbed his friend's good arm in his steel hand and was off like a shot.   
  
"You will not escape as easily as that!" Mecha roared after them.   
  
Tails felt his feet touch the floor once in a while, such as when Sonic took a sharp turn and had to decelerate. He could not see how his friend kept from tripping or hitting a wall. After a close brush with a protruding pipe, Tails shouted, "All right, all right! Put me down-- you're gonna kill me!"   
  
Sonic slowed, looking behind them. "Okay," he panted, "I don't think he followed us. You okay?"   
  
Tails stood, pulled away and rubbed his arm. "Man, you have no feeling in your hands. I'll bet I get a bruise the size of a grapefruit from that."   
  
Sonic opened his hand and looked at it witheringly. "I can't help it, little bro. This stupid metal--"   
  
"Actually, it is very intelligent metal."   
  
They whipped around. Metal Sonic was standing in the passage behind them, arms folded. Somehow he had crept up without them hearing. "In fact," he continued, "you would be much more useful if you were both robotized. And Sssonic, your condition is permanent, so get used to it."   
  
Sonic's hands curled into fists, but otherwise he did not stir.   
  
"You are trapped here. All exits have been sealed. You will die unless you surrender."   
  
"And if we surrender," Sonic growled, "we die. Not much choice there."   
  
"Correct. Which do you wish?"   
  
"Delay my answer. Tails, we are up, over and gooonne!"   
  
The two fled down the passage. This time Mecha pursued them openly, red eyes bright with anger. They could hear as he radioed for reinforcements.   
  
"I don't think this was such a good idea," Tails panted to Sonic as they ran.   
  
Sonic cast a glance over his shoulder. "What else was I supposed to do, give up? Not in a million years!"   
  
"Do you think he was lying--you know, about this place being sealed?"   
  
"I donno, but I'm pretty sure we're gonna need the bi-plane to get away."   
  
Two hallways later they were forced to stop by three big robots, who were standing in the middle of the hallway, guns aimed and ready. Sonic recognized them as the 'SWAT-bots' they had seen in Flying Battery's construction bay. For the first time they head their war-cry: "NUMBER-ONE PRIORITY HEDGEHOG! APPREHEND!"   
  
"Go back!" Sonic yelled, spinning around.   
  
"But what about Metal Sonic?" Tails cried.   
  
"I'll mow him down. Come ON!"   
  
They tore down the corridor, alert to the clanking of the SWAT- bots' feet on the smooth metal floor. Laser blasts began to flash by them, striking the ground and walls. "I can see the headlines now," Tails said, gasping every few words. "Sonic Hedgehog and Tails Prower found dead--shot in the back. Speculation of cowardice--"   
  
"This isn't cowardice!" Sonic retorted. "This is saving our skins!"   
  
Metal Sonic appeared ahead as he rounded a corner. Tails moved next to the wall, while Sonic threw himself into a spin and shot forward. He collided with the robot head-on. Metal Sonic was thrown backward and sent skidding across the floor. He finally came to rest, the robot equivalent of stunned. Sonic and Tails jumped around him and ran on, scott-free. 

* * *

  
  
"Sonic, where are we?"   
  
The two stopped and looked around. They had been wandering down the hallways for ages, trying to find he hanger door Mecha had chased them from. None of the door names looked familiar. They had come to a gigantic, thick-glassed window that looked out into the core section of the Death Egg. They certainly had never seen THAT before. This is why Tails brought up his nervous question. Sonic had no idea, but was not about to admit they were lost. "We're almost to the hanger," he said, crossing his fingers behind his back and hoping it were true. "This is a shortcut."   
  
Believing him, Tails meekly fell into step beside him as they set out again. 

* * *

  
  
Robotnik was engaged in analyzing the crystal structure of the Master Emerald when his communicator beeped. Concentration focused on the computer, he didn't notice until it had beeped twice more. Distractedly he picked it up and flicked it on. "Yeah? This had better be important."   
  
"Doctor," came Metal Sonic's voice, "S-Son--my rival and his companion have escaped and are somewhere in the Death Egg."   
  
That got Ivo's attention. "What? How did THEY get here?"   
  
"Crept aboard is my guess, sir."   
  
"What about Knuckles? Did you kill him as I wished?"   
  
"Nearly, Doctor. His vital signs were very low, so I brought him here. He is in one of the prison cells. I figured we could try out the robotizer prototype on him."   
  
Robotnik looked at the computer screen thoughtfully. "I programmed you to show no mercy."   
  
"That was not mercy, sir." The robot was personally insulted. "I will show you what I mean when you give me your permission to use him as a guinea pig."   
  
Robotnik waved a hand, as if Metal Sonic were in the room. "Do with him as you wish, but I want him dead afterward. No traitor against me has ever lived very long, and I intend to keep it that way."   
  
"Very well, Doctor. It will give me great pleasure."   
  
The comm clicked off, and Robotnik returned his attention to the Master emerald. 

* * *

  
  
"Intruders! Halt!" Two laser blasts hit the wall a few feet from Tails's head.   
  
"Yipes!" the fox shrieked, whirling. "Sonic, we've got company!"   
  
A whole gang of SWAT-bots were pelting toward them, weapons ready.   
  
"No kidding!" Sonic yelped. "Let's get outta here!"   
  
The hedgehog and fox ran down the dim hall. Laser blasts flashed by, striking everywhere but their intended targets. "Lucky for us they're such rotten shots," Sonic muttered.   
  
Tails looked back. "Uh oh, not for long. Mecha just joined the troops."   
  
Sonic tossed a glance over his shoulder. Sure enough, the blue robot had appeared out of nowhere and was leading the pack.   
  
A few lasers were fired that merited ducking. Metal Sonic was deadly serious about the chase, but had not had much target practice. He was still learning how to think like an assassin.   
  
"Oh great, what's THAT?" Tails asked, beginning to pant. Sonic looked. Ahead of them, standing in the middle of the hall and waiting, was a large figure. Sonic's footsteps faltered in indecision, then strengthened again. "Just keep going," he panted to his sidekick. "It won't stop us."   
  
A second later they flashed past it. Tails looked back. "Look, it's distracting the robots! It's leading them off!"   
  
Sonic looked back, too, then laughed out loud. The thing had ducked tough a side door, and all the SWAT-bots followed it. Incidentally, so did Metal Sonic.   
  
"That was Slasher!" Sonic exclaimed, slowing. "What's she doing here?"   
  
"Saving our skins," Tails replied, and sighed with relief. "Man, I thought we were toast."   
  
They slowed to a walk, looking around warily.   
  
"Think she'll keep 'em occupied very long?" the young fox asked.   
  
Sonic shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Never can tell with Mecha. Let's find someplace to hide."   
  
On impulse they turned down a hallway marked 'engines'. "Lotsa obstacles," Sonic said hopefully. "Let's hope they assume we wouldn't be dumb enough to go in here."   
  
Tails shot him a sharp glance. "Dumb enough? We're not gonna jump down the engine core or something, are we?"   
  
The blue hedgehog waved a hand. "Naw. We'll just hide somewhere. C'mon, before we get spotted."   
  
The hall brought them to a very large room that dropped down at least two hundred feet. A narrow metal walkway and staircase zig-zagged down one wall, like a fire escape. The two started down, peering curiously over the railing at the machinery below. It was quite noisy; hissing, clanking, the roar of gigantic engines. There was a door at each level of the staircase--engine 1, 1A, 2, 2A--   
  
The two made it halfway down before there came a shout, and a laserblast bounced off the wall to their right. It ricocheted around the room several times before going out. Sonic and Tails dropped flat until it had vanished, then looked around. Two worker bots, apparently on guard, stood on another walkway across the room. One was carrying a deadly-looking blaster rifle.   
  
Sonic jumped up and turned to the usual engine door on their platform. "In there, kiddo! We're gonna get killed if we stay in here!" He yanked the door open and they leaped through, failing to read the sign on the door. It said, 'Circle Gravity-Engine 3-B.'   
  
The first thing they noticed was the deafening roar and the blue- grey light. The next thing they noticed was that they were flying forward with no way to stop. The wall coming at them was not a wall at all, but a spinning circular fan, like those in jet-engines. It had to be a hundred feet across. They shot toward it, but about ten feet from the blades, a massive gust of air struck them. They were hurled back toward the door they had entered by.   
  
The entire room was turning clockwise around a huge rod up the center. It was not square, but cylindrical. They did not fall downward-- 'down' had been switched to the giant fan to their right. The door they had come in by was now 'up'. The gravity was confusing, the noise was confusing, and the rotating motion of the thing they were in was confusing.   
  
Sonic finally succeeded in catching Tails's arm as they passed in the air. Tails looked ill. He came near to losing his lunch every time he neared the sharp fan blades. "What is this?" he shouted over the noise.   
  
"Gravity generator!" Sonic yelled back. "It's gotta shut down for us to get out!"   
  
"Won't we hit the fan?" Tails cried, even as they hit the air barrier and bounced horizontally, or 'up'.   
  
"No!" Sonic replied loudly. "Down is that way, remember?"   
  
"How do we shut it down from inside?"   
  
"I donno! I REALLY don't want to go hyper in here! Let's see if we can find something!"   
  
They bounced around for a while, studying the walls and and rotating rod in the center. Sonic finally spotted a small panel hanging open on the rod, near the center of it. Wires and circuits were exposed beneath. After several tries, he finally managed to grab the edge's opening. He hung sideways by one hand, and with the other reached inside, clamped his metal fingers around the electronic hardware and yanked.   
  
It must have been vital. Sonic was shocked violently, muscles locked, unable to let go. The rotating cylinder around them ground to a halt, the roar of the machinery rising to a deafening scream. Sonic could do nothing. He was frozen in place, unable to make a sound or free himself.   
  
Gravity change. He had no idea which way was up anymore, so it was a shock to make a right angle turn and hang in THAT direction. It jerked his hands out of the wiring, and he free-fell twenty feet to what had been the wall. He collapsed onto the rough metal surface and closed his eyes, muscles trembling.   
  
The hedgehog lay there for a few minutes, unmoving. He was aroused by the faint clanking of footsteps. Tails knelt beside him. "Sonic? Are- are you okay?" Sonic hadn't the strength to reply, which frightened his sidekick. "Sonic! You're not dead, are you? Oh Sonic--"   
  
"Tails," Sonic growled, irritated. His speaking apparatus didn't seem to work very well, but he slurred, "I'm alright, so gimmeuhminit ..."   
  
Tails gave a sigh of relief and sat back on his heels, waiting.   
  
It took Sonic some time to recover. The prolonged electric shock had drained him of all energy, and his muscles seemed turned to jelly. He had just made it to a sitting position and was resting with his forehead on his knees, when voices startled them.   
  
"Master, there they are!"   
  
"Wait! Do not go in there. I will go in myself and drive them to you." The voices echoed in the vast tube. Sonic and Tails turned. Metal Sonic glared at them from the doorway they had entered by. Three SWAT- bots stood behind him.   
  
Tails tapped Sonic's shoulder nervously. "Sonic, we'd better get out of here. Mecha's gonna eat our lunch."   
  
Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Help me up."   
  
Tails took his hand and pulled him to his feet. Sonic took two steps, buckled and sank to one knee. His legs would not support him; they burned and throbbed as if his veins were filled with liquid flame. He moaned involuntarily, glanced back at the robot, who was climbing down into the generator, and forced himself to his feet.   
  
Tails was almost dancing, eyes on their enemy. "Hurry, Sonic, hurry! We gotta run--"   
  
"I can't run!" Sonic nearly shouted in frustration. "Tails, you hafta help me. My legs don't work right!"   
  
The fox took his hand, sobered. "You can't run?"   
  
"No! You have to help me until my legs get strong again. Hurry up, already!"   
  
They both looked at Metal Sonic. The robot was pacing toward them like a lion in an arena. "Run," Sonic commanded flatly. "I can move if you'll steady me."   
  
Tails looked around wildly. "Where the heck do I run to?"   
  
Sonic turned and pointed to the huge fan, which was now stopped and quiet. "There. We can get out through the blades. Now run, dummy!"   
  
It was perhaps the hardest thing Sonic had ever attempted to do. Tails's hand kept him upright, but he lifted and placed each foot by sheer willpower. Each step was agony, and his body cried out for him to stop. He bit his lip fiercely against the pain. Mecha was gaining on them--Tails was not half the runner his crippled friend was.   
  
The huge fan rose before them, hundreds of thin blades glinting in the dim light. The center was attached to the monstrous rod that supported the center of the engine, now high above. Tails slowed, helped Sonic over the low ledge that formed the edge of the fan, then looked back. Mecha was only fifty feet away and closing fast, eyes burning dangerously.   
  
They forced and wiggled their way through a gap in the blades, surprised at how wide they really were. Sonic held himself up and fought his way though the narrow slit without help, but once on the other side, Tails again had to take his hand.   
  
They found themselves in a huge exhaust pipe, bigger in diameter than the generator had been. Fortunately, there was a door in the far side. It seemed to take years to cross the vast open space. By the time they made it to the far side, Metal Sonic had succeeded in clawing his way through the fan and was again running toward them.   
  
It was then they discovered the door was locked securely.   
  
"Sonic," Tails said helplessly, "you have to become hyper. We're trapped, no question."   
  
Sonic nodded. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was better than being captured and wrested of the chaos and super emeralds.   
  
Wordlessly he pulled out two super emeralds and clashed them together.   
  
His blue flashed to a hot myriad of colors, and the bursts of excess energy appeared. His glow was startling against the grey twilight of the pipe. Metal Sonic stopped short and began to back away. He was not foolish enough to challenge Hyper Sonic.   
  
Sonic stood still, feeling the pain drain from his limbs. Invincibility was a wonderful thing; maybe his body would have recovered by the time he decharged. He had no idea how long he was to remain hyper that day ...   
  
He assaulted the door, wrested it from its hinges and and tossed it aside. He motioned Tails inside, waved a sarcastic goodbye to Metal Sonic, and disappeared into the dark passage. 

* * *

  
  
A hunt/chase developed. Sonic, made reckless by faith in his invincibility, fought and destroyed dozens of SWAT-bots. Tails lived in an agony of suspense, never knowing when the next attack would come. Sonic didn't let him use the chaos emeralds for fear the flickies would cause major damage to the Death Egg before the Master emerald had been secured.   
  
The chase went on for hours. Sonic and Tails fled through engine rooms, robot factories, guardstations, and spent quite a while lost in the weapons-factory wing. There they found a set of gigantic guns, all of which needed the Master emerald as a laser crystal. Doomsday weapons all.   
  
After a while Metal Sonic dropped out of the chase. They didn't know where he went or why, but knew he must be up to no good. Only the SWAT-bots kept up the chase.   
  
Then Robotnik put his oar in.   
  
Hyper Sonic and Tails ducked into a small empty room to catch their breaths. They heard the robotic voices of their enemies in the hall outside for a while, but the robots eventually wandered off.   
  
"Safe now," Tails panted.   
  
"Not while we're here," Sonic corrected. "This stupid battlestation is crawling with traps. And robots." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I think if we leave this hallway and turn right, we'll--" He broke off and stared at the grid ceiling.   
  
Tails, noticing, looked up as well. "Huh?"   
  
Sonic moved forward and reached up. "Hey Tails, look. See how this seam right here runs up to here, then across, then down, the back across--" Experimentally he pushed on the square. To their surprise, it lifted quite easily. It was a hidden trapdoor. "Cool," Sonic remarked. "I take back what I said before. We'll get out through here."   
  
He gave it a shove. The panel flipped up and clanked against the floor above. Sonic jumped up through it and looked around, braced up on his elbows. Tails saw him freeze and catch his breath. "What?" the fox demanded. "Is it Mecha?"   
  
Sonic climbed up out of the hole and stood beside it, staring around him. "Nope," he replied after a moment. "It's the hanger. Give me your hand--I'll pull you up."   
  
Tails took Sonic's hand and scrambled out onto the floor. Then he too stared.   
  
Like everything else on the Death Egg, the hanger was enormous. Easily the size of a football stadium, the ceiling was so high it was almost out of sight. The west wall was a solid glass door from floor to ceiling. Outside was a very large landing platform, almost a runway. Also outside, they could see something that gave them sudden vertigo.   
  
They were on a level with Mobius's atmosphere. Black, star- studded space spread out above, and Mobius, sapphire blue, vivid brown and green, laced with white streamers they knew to be clouds, lay below.   
  
"If we jumped now," Sonic said grimly, "we'd be meteors by the time we hit the ground. I only hope Slasher got out of here before we got so high."   
  
Tails was more concerned with their predicament. "Could we get out of here as super and hyper?"   
  
Sonic nodded. "Probably. I'm not too worried about us. But the Master emerald--" here he turned and gazed into the hanger. Tails did the same.   
  
A vast assortment of attack ships met their eyes. They were parked in neat rows near the walls, silent and waiting. The two approached them for a closer look.   
  
The ships were nearly trademarked--Knuckles had obviously designed some, and Robotnik others. Some resembled fighter jets, others closer to flying saucers, and a few were so bizarre as to defy description. These were the fast, expensive fighters, all bearing heavy defense shields and vicious weaponry.   
  
"You know," Sonic said, hands on his hips, "I could destroy all these. But I don't think I will."   
  
"Why not?" asked Tails, who was crouched over a jet's canopy, looking into the cockpit.   
  
"Two reasons," Sonic said, with the air of a know-it-all teacher. "One, they might blow up big. Two, those explosions might hurt the bi-plane."   
  
Tails's head snapped up. "What?"   
  
Sonic walked up to a tarp-covered object and flipped one corner back with a flourish. Underneath was the silver wing and bright scarlet side of none other than their stolen plane.   
  
Tails came running, eyes bright. "You found it! How'd you know it was under there?"   
  
The two pulled the yellow tarp off, and Sonic replied, "I'd know its shape anywhere. And what a place for it!" He jumped up on the top wing, which was specially insulated so his power would not affect the machinery. His eyes swept it from nose to tail, missing nothing. Aside from a little dust, it seemed untouched. "If Robotnik put one scratch on this baby," he growled fiercely, "I'm gonna sweep the floor with his mustache." He nearly decharged himself so as to check the engines, but checked himself. He didn't want to risk the chance that he might not have recovered from his electric shock. Instead, he waved Tails into the cockpit.   
  
The young fox vaulted into the seat with the ease of long routine. He adjusted the controls and started the engines. "Everything's the way we left it," he reported, "but the fuel's one notch lower."   
  
"Probably from Knux taking it," Sonic said, lightening up. "Good. We'll be able to get it out of here--as soon as we get a little lower, that is." He glanced toward the big glass door as space beyond. Then he gasped. "Oh my gosh. Tails, look!"   
  
The fox stood up in the cockpit and looked. He too gasped in horror.   
  
Outside on the runway were two giant feet. These were connected to two giant legs, a massive torso, huge arms--Their eyes travelled on up to the head. One eye was back, tinted glass--the cockpit. The other was a mass of machinery. The metal mustache confirmed the robot as Robotnik's likeness. It was framed in the glass doorway, four stories tall.   
  
"Tails," Sonic said quietly, "get out of the plane and become super. When that door opens all the air will be sucked out."   
  
Tails obeyed, wondering how Sonic knew the door would open.   
  
The flicky birds appeared out of nowhere, as usual. The lead bird looked around the hanger with a destructive eye and asked if his young master would like all the machines destroyed. "No," Tails said shortly. "See the big robot outside? That's the target, as soon as the doors open."   
  
"Look," another flicky chirped, "it's Robozilla."   
  
"But there's no air this high," another began. It was interrupted by a clank and a whirr. The glass paneled door began to rise.   
  
Sonic grabbed Tails and held him as the air rushed out the door with a roar of wind. It tugged at their bodies with impossibly strong force, attempting to suck them out the door. Sonic, protected thoroughly by the supers, felt no ill effects. Tails, however, was only partially protected by the chaos emeralds. The air was ripped from his lungs, and the air pressure changed wreaked havoc on his eardrums. He gasped, struggled a little, then went limp in Sonic's arms.   
  
"Tails?" Sonic said in horror. "What happened? Tails!" No answer. The fox lay senseless in his arms, the glow in his body slowly dimming.   
  
"He will be dead in a few seconds," the lead flicky said impassively. "You must bond the emeralds to save him."   
  
"What?" Sonic said, panicking. "How do I do that?"   
  
The chaos emeralds, rotating around Tails, were slowing down.   
  
"Take your super emeralds and hold them inside the orbit of the chaos," the flicky explained.   
  
Sonic hurriedly pulled out his supers and thrust the handful inside the chaos emeralds' circle.   
  
There was a powerful flash of light. Tails was torn from Sonic's grasp in the explosion. Sonic was thrown to the floor on his back. He bounded to his feet almost instantly, and beheld a strange sight.   
  
Tails was just sitting up a few feet away, gasping and dazedly shaking his head. The chaos emeralds were not orbiting him only--they looped around him, flashed through the air, went around Sonic, and back again. The bright sparks of energy that had flamed from Sonic were now flaming from both of them. The flickies soared back and forth between them.   
  
Sonic went to his friend and helped him to his feet. "Are you okay, little bro? I thought I'd lost you."   
  
Tails rubbed one ear. "I'm okay now, I think. I couldn't breathe. It was like my brain shut down. Hey, what's with the emeralds?"   
  
The lead bird heard him and said, "In atomic terms, this is called 'covalent bond'. Two atoms bond by sharing the electrons in their orbits. The chaos emeralds, incidentally, do the same when brought into contact with the supers. The two of you together have achieved ultra powers. Travel through the sun itself would not harm you. Oh, by the way--do you want to do something about Robozilla over there?"   
  
Indeed, the giant stood waiting, Dr. Robotnik himself in the cockpit. As they gazed at it, it lifted one foot and moved forward heavily. "Sonic," Tails said, "don't let him come in here. He might hurt the bi-plane."   
  
"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "C'mon, mister ultra-Tails. I don't think we can get very far apart during this ... 'covalent bond'."   
  
The two took off. Tails found himself able to move as effortlessly as Sonic and just as quickly. He could not help but feel a twinge of fear as they neared the monstrous robot. He didn't trust the emeralds. He had been super and yet nearly suffocated. No matter what the power flickies said, he was taking no chances.   
  
Sonic, on the other hand, was ready to take every chance he got. If he was mondo invincible now, then he could test the robot's defences without fear.   
  
"Can't tell you to split up," Sonic called to Tails, "so come with me. I wanna get a look at the engine housing."   
  
"Be careful!" Tails said. "It's a little bigger than we're used to."   
  
"Duh."   
  
They cut sharply right thirty feet from the boss's feet and circled it. The head turned to follow their movement with its one black eye, giving the uncanny impression it was alive. The engines, unfortunately, were built inside the robot's chest. Only the vents on the underside of its torso gave a clue as to where they were. They circled it again, looking up at it curiously. Its armor was at least three feet thick.   
  
"I don't see any weak spots," Sonic said, discouraged. "If there were only a way to get inside ... Tails, fly with me. I want to get higher up."   
  
The fox spun his double tails obediently, and kept up easily when Sonic bounded into the air and soared upward. On level with the chest, they again circled it, then moved closer and looked at the head. No weaknesses. They landed on it and walked around, trying to electrocute it, but the robot was insulated from their attack. It was too big.   
  
They landed on the runway a ways away from it. All this time the only move the bot had made was to turn its head. They decided that it was too big and heavy to pose any real threat. Sonic scratched his head in bewilderment. "I don't know what we're gonna do, little bro. We're like ants trying to threaten an elephant."   
  
Tails nodded. "But there's gotta be a weakness. There always is. Hey birds," he addressed the glowing flickies, "any suggestions?"   
  
"Yes," one chirped. "Watch out!"   
  
A monstrous metal hand smashed down inches away from Sonic and Tails, shaking the entire platform. They leaped back with a surprised yelp. The boss had extended its hand on a long thick pole from its wrist. Now it lifted it and withdrew. They could almost see Robotnik's sneer in the robot's face.   
  
"Overconfidence is your weakness," the lead flicky remarked to Sonic. "You forget to be on guard. This is your intelligent, scheming enemy we're facing. It would help to be on your toes."   
  
Sonic glanced at Tails, who nodded. "I'll watch, too, Sonic. Look, here comes the other hand. Think we could break it off?"   
  
Sonic watched the heavy metal hand slowly extend toward them. "Sure. I seem to remember another ship with hands and arms--it got you last time. Dual attack as soon as it comes down. Ready ..."   
  
The massive hand crashed down. Ultra Sonic and Tails dodged like lightning, then pounced on the hand before it could pull away. Tails was surprised to find himself strong enough to grasp two metal panels and rip them off. Sonic noticed and approved. "Get the fingers, little bro. I'll get the rod."   
  
He flung himself into a spindash and crashed into the thick, greasy pole. His own strength had been doubled by the bond, and he was able to smash it in half with only four hits.   
  
The other hand was already extending. When Robotnik saw what they had done he tried to retract it, but it was too late. Sonic and Tails attacked, and soon the other hand was dislocated and lying on the runway, smoking. They gave each other a high five as the boss loaded its next weapon round.   
  
Sonic and Tails turned to face the boss again, only to see all four flickies abandon them and take off toward it. "Wait!" Tails began, but Sonic touched his arm. "No, look."   
  
A gigantic panel had slid aside in the robot's chest, revealing delicate machinery--and the biggest laser either had ever seen. The lens was four feet across, and a deep green.   
  
"Sonic," Tails said softly. "It's the Master emerald on end."   
  
Sonic stared. It was true--the emerald was on its side, smooth top facing outward. As they watched, it began to glow a hot neon green. "Not only that," Sonic said, "but it works, too. Start running. Even as ultra, I wouldn't want to get hit with that thing."   
  
They took off, zig-zagging and dodging around the runway, eyes fixed on the Master emerald/laser. It charged until it was nearly too bright to look at, then fired a monstrous green beam. It missed, of course, but it burned a ten-foot circle in the runway. Then the panel closed over the laser, and the flickies returned and again circled Sonic and Tails.   
  
"What'd you guys do?" Sonic asked.   
  
"Checked things out," one replied. "It'll fire again. The Master is the heart of the whole machine. If you can get in and break the Master out of the machinery, the robot will die. We'll help you as much as we can."   
  
Sonic gave them and Tails a thumbs-up. "Good. Now we have something to go on. C'mon!"   
  
First the robot moved forward several steps and blasted a huge fireball at them from the guns in its' 'nose'. Sonic, Tails and the flickies stood still and let it pass over them. The flame could not penetrate the emerald bond or invincibility, Tails was relieved to see.   
  
The chest panel opened again. "Now!" Sonic yelled. He and Tails bounded forward, leaped into the air and flew into the chest cavity. It was narrow and cramped, so Sonic went down on his belly and wormed his way in. Everything was hot and reeked of grease and oil. A hot green light shown from the Master emerald. He worked his way alongside it and examined the steel framework about it. Then he yelled, "Birds, get in here!"   
  
Somehow, all four obeyed.   
  
"I'm gonna pull this bar like this," he said, demonstrating. "You get in and pull those three clamps back. That should get it away from the light source. Ready, set, go!" He pulled the support rod back, releasing the clamps. The flickies jumped in and yanked the clamps back. The Master emerald settled to one side, loose. Sonic set his feet against it and kicked.   
  
Tails, hovering outside, was just in time to catch the heavy gem as it popped out. It was too big for him to carry, so he brought it to the ground as best as he could without dropping it. Sonic jumped down beside him, literally glowing with elation. The flickies followed close behind. Sonic turned the gem this way and that before finding a way to carry it. He lifted it, grunting, and said, "Might as well be a boulder. C'mon Tails, let's get out of--"   
  
He was interrupted as the towering mountain of metal above gave a groan and began to topple forward. "RUN!" a flicky shrieked. Sonic and Tails dashed sideways in time to avoid the monster's fall. The metallic crash was deafening as it sprawled headlong, covering most of the runway like a felled tree. As soon as silence resumed, Tails said, "All right, where'd Robotnik go?"   
  
Indeed, a door in the back of the robot's head was standing open. They looked around suspiciously.   
  
"Sssonic ..."   
  
They whirled. Metal Sonic appeared, walking toward them from the direction of the hanger. He had something--it looked like a piece of glass--clenched in one hand. Sonic folded his arms. This robot was nothing compared to the one they had just defeated. "Hiya, Mecha. Where've you been? Ya just missed all the fun."   
  
"On the contrary," the robot replied, red eyes glittering savagely, "that was merely the intro. The show has just started. For instance." He lifted the thing he was holding above his head. "I hold in my hands a fragment of the Master emerald."   
  
Sonic cast a glance at the gem beside him. His eyes fell on the pointed end--the three inches of the tip had been cleanly shaved off. He returned his gaze to the robot, horrified.   
  
Metal Sonic nodded. "You understand. And soon you shall see!"   
  
He clashed one metal hand against the bit he held. His metal hull began to glow a dull yellow, like molten gold.   
  
"Fool," the lead flicky said evenly. "That power is not meant for a machine. Sonic, you must take the fragment from him. It could be the cause of much evil."   
  
Sonic looked at Tails. The young fox nodded, eyes burning. "Let's get him."   
  
They attacked. Mecha deflected their blows easily, for he was invincible. He looked toward the Master emerald, alone and exposed on the runway, and laughed. He was a decoy. He would hold their attention until Robotnik had picked up the Master, then flee the two.   
  
The armored freighter was nearly silent. It swooped down unnoticed, scooped up the huge gem and took off into the airless sky.   
  
Seeing this, Metal Sonic broke away from his attackers, pelted to the edge of the runway and hurled the green fragment over. It fell, shimmering like a raindrop for an instant, then was gone. Bewildered, Sonic and Tails stared at him. "You two are very stupid," he told them smugly. "Where is the Master now?"   
  
They turned and saw it was missing.   
  
Neither noticed the robot calmly enter the hanger, climb into one of the little jets, fire it up, and roar away. They had tore to the edge of the runway and were staring after the departing freighter.   
  
Abruptly Sonic turned to his sidekick. "Tails, I'm going to unbond us. You go back and get the plane out of here. I'm going after Robotnik. I'm not losing out now. Not after coming this far."   
  
"Sonic," Tails said apprehensively, "I can't breathe out here. We can't unbond."   
  
"We can create an oxygen shield around you," a flicky said. "But Sonic, don't unbond here. Please, not here!" The other birds echoed him.   
  
"Why not?" Sonic said impatiently, staring after the vanishing ship.   
  
"Because it releases a tremendous amount of energy! Don't do it here--"   
  
"We've got to do it sometime," Sonic said crossly. "Put your shield around Tails and tell me when you're ready."   
  
Reluctantly the flickies began to whirl around Tails's head. When they were a yellow blur, one said, "Okay, we're ready."   
  
Sonic snatched a chaos emerald from its orbit and clashed it against a super.   
  
The resulting explosion was best compared to a nuclear bomb, or a volcanic eruption. Sonic was blasted spinning out into space, where he righted himself and tore after Robotnik, hyper. Tails was hurled in the other direction and landed on the hanger floor.   
  
True to their word, the flickies had created an air shield around the young fox. He picked himself up, winded but unhurt. As he did he heard the sound. It was a horrible mechanical shriek, as if every machine in the Death Egg were running down. It wasn't until artificial gravity slanted sideways did Tails understand--the explosion had been so big it had damaged everything in the battlestation. He ran for the bi- plane, staggering on the floor that now felt as if it were pitched up at a 45 degree angle. As he did, he thought of something--wouldn't he fry the machinery?   
  
"Birds," he panted, "can you drop my energy output so I won't hurt the bi-plane?"   
  
"Yes," one flicky said slowly. "But it will have grievous consequences."   
  
"Just do it," said Tails. His glow dimmed accordingly as he vaulted into the cockpit. He fired up the little plane, thankful that they had had the engines and fuel line pressurized, so an airless altitude wouldn't hurt them.   
  
He taxied out onto the runway, drove around the fallen boss robot, gunned the flamejets, and took to the airless sky.   
  
He never would have made it if not for the flickies. They moderated the power of the chaos emeralds, while maintaining the bubble of air around the young fox. What they didn't mention was that this was the breath from their own bodies.   
  
As the altimeter dropped from 55 miles to 4, one by one the flickies began to fall behind. Tails didn't notice until he said, "Okay, I'm low enough to breathe now." He looked around, and saw only one flicky, the leader, flying wearily alongside.   
  
"I am the last," he gasped. "Young master, I am afraid I must take the chaos emeralds from you."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"You no longer need them. It is better for them to remain separated."   
  
The little bird flew forward, caught each emerald in its orbit around Tails, deactivated it, then tossed it out into space. Finally all were gone, and Tails was normal. The flicky no longer glowed. Its once-bright eyes were dim. "Goodbye, Tails," he chirped feebly. "I have done my bidding. Our lives were drained from us to maintain enough air for you to survive. I must now leave."   
  
"No!" Tails cried. "Land in the plane with me! I'll land--we'll find a doctor--"   
  
"Too late," the bird murmured. "Too late. You are alive; that is all that matters. Farewell, friend ..."   
  
The flicky sank from sight and vanished in the wake of the bi- plane.   
Chapter 14  
Doomsday  
  
____________________________________________________________________   
  
Sonic hurled through space, shining like one of the stars above him. Mobius spread out like a blue map below, its aquamarine glow reflecting off his face and arms.   
  
His power was weakened. Not that his invincibility was any less, but the bond had created a sort of shield around him. Now that was gone, and he was alone in the sky with his arch-enemy.   
  
Hyper Sonic pressed his arms to his sides, willing himself to fly faster. There was no air, no wind in his face to gauge his speed by. For all he knew, he could be standing still. But he was not, for he was catching up with the distant ship. He could see the red taillights shining against the blackness.   
  
Space debris! One moment he was flying through nothing, the next he was dodging through huge floating boulders. There were thousands of them, creating a tiny asteroid field in orbit around Mobius. He ducked, dodged and wove his way through, knowing he should slow down and refusing to. This inevitably led to crashing into a large rock head-on. It cracked apart from the impact, and Sonic went spinning wildly out of control. He righted himself, unhurt but shaken. The collision had slowed him. He would never catch up at this rate.   
  
After a while the asteroids thinned out, and Hyper Sonic was able to pour on the speed. It wasn't long before he reached the freighter and pulled up alongside. It was a massive, burly thing. It was vaguely egg-shaped, with three huge rockets roaring at the big end. The front end had a tiny tinted windshield with gaping engine intakes on either said. Sonic made note of them. A very obvious weakness.   
  
There was no sound out in space with no air molecules to carry it. Sonic could not hear the jets, although he could feel their vibration. This is the reason he did not hear the missiles fire. He didn't even see them until one hit him from behind and sent him careening downward. By the time he recovered his wits and balance, the freighter had gained some distance. He took off after it, wondering what had hit him.   
  
He finally spotted the two remaining red-tipped missiles. They had him targeted and were homing in on him. Thinking quickly, he pulled ahead of the ship, waited until the missiles had nearly reached him, then ducked backward. The missiles turned to follow him--and entered one of the engine intakes squarely.   
  
"It was quite an explosion," Sonic said afterward. "I'm sure the noise would have been terrific." A bright blue flame ripped through the armored hull as the engines died. Fragments were flung loose and hurled into space. The dying ship began to sink slowly toward the planet below. Sonic followed, watching like a hawk for the Master emerald.   
  
But instead, the cargo hatch in the underside of the freighter opened and a smallish ship dove out. Sonic found himself staring; it was a smaller version of the Robotnik-bot they had battled earlier. Right down to the evil face. In its clawed hands was clutched a big green crystal, the prize Sonic was trying for. There was no doubt about who was driving the robot. The rocketpack on its back fired up and it took off, leaving the freighter to burn in Mobius's atmosphere.   
  
Sonic tore along after it. This was Robotnik's last-ditch attempt to escape with the Master emerald, and the hedgehog intended to stop him.   
  
He flew up ahead of it and glanced through the windshield. His arch-enemy glared back at him. Sonic bristled. This was the person responsible for Tails's injury. This was the one who had created Metal Sonic. This was the one who had caused Knuckles so much misery. And it was payback time.   
  
Hyper Sonic slammed his invincible body into the robot's side. It jolted slightly to one side, but kept flying. He began to circle it, smashing himself into every vulnerable area, testing the bot for weaknesses. It never dawned on him to check the thickness of the armor, or that perhaps the old method of shocking the machine might work. He couldn't hear the engines whine every time he touched the robot's hull.   
  
He did see the series of small explosions in the arms. The hands opened, and the Master emerald floated free. Sonic swooped down, grabbed it, then hit the robot's chest one last time.   
  
The explosion nearly rivaled that of the freighter. Fragments and burning metal went flying in all directions. Only the head remained intact, dented and slowly toppling end over end in space.   
  
"Goodbye, Doctor," Sonic said to it in triumph, although his voice never made it past his lips. "I've got the loot, you've got the boot."   
  
He whirled and dove for the blue world below, carrying the Master emerald awkwardly against his chest.   
  
He didn't see the robot's head right itself, fire up a small engine in its underside, and roar at an angle back toward Mobius ... 

* * *

  
  
Sonic flew down, down, down, accelerating alarmingly. He would have incinerated, hyper or not, had he not been carrying the Master emerald. Its power poured into his body, brightening his glow and turning him its shade of emerald-green. It was only because of this he was able to pull out of the dive, slow, and fly steadily downward at his own pace.   
  
He was tired. Now that Robotnik was defeated and the Master safe, he had very little drive left for finishing. All he could think of was landing somewhere and sleeping for about two weeks.   
  
For the first time in hours, a sound reached him. It was a relief to hear something other than the rushing of the wind in his ears. His enhanced vision picked out the tiny aircraft below. He could see it clearly--a red bi-plane with silver trim. Well, what do you know. He made for it with renewed vigor.   
  
As he drew closer, he began to call, "Tails! Taaiills!" After the fifth call the plane swerved and began to fly toward him. Tails had seen him. Sonic swooped down over it and alighted on the top wing. He let the tip of the Master emerald rest on it, taking the weight off his arms. He sighed in relief as Tails said, "Sonic, you won! Are you okay?"   
  
He nodded his glowing head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm cool. Bushed is all. Where are we? Got enough fuel to make it to the Floating Island?"   
  
The fox checked. "Yeah, plenty. What happened?"   
  
Sonic sank to a sitting position and thrust his feet through the handles on the wing top. "Tell ya later. Make tracks. We gotta get the Master back before the island sinks."   
  
Tails turned the bi-plane and began to pour on the speed. He didn't have the heart to mention the flickies. Not now. Not yet ...   
Epilogue  
Knux's side and the end  
______________________________________________________________________   
  
I stood on the edge of the mossy platform in Sky Sanctuary, waving goodbye to Sonic and Tails. I suddenly felt very alone. There went the two guys I should have been friends with from the first. Instead, the one guy I had worked with and trusted had double-crossed me. Well, I had learned something--you don't know your friends until you need them.   
  
I stared hard at the bright specks, trying to see when they entered the battleship. I didn't get the chance. I sensed, rather than heard, the footfalls approaching me from behind. I whipped around to find myself nose-to-nose with Metal Sonic.   
  
"Hello, Knuckles," he purred. He was too close--within arm's length. I tried to step back, but my foot encountered thin air. I was on the very edge of the platform.   
  
He stared straight into my eyes with an intensity that was frightening. He was going to kill me, I was sure. I had helped build him. I had co-programmed him. And I knew an enemy when I saw one.   
  
Slowly he lifted one hand, curling his silver fingers into a fist. I knew what he was going to do, and acted first.   
  
I drove one fist into his chest, the other into his eyes. Unprepared, he staggered backward. I leaped around him, away from the edge of the platform. To my surprise he lunged with me, grabbed me by the arm, whipped me around him like in 'crack the whip', and sent me sailing over the edge of the platform.   
  
It happened too quickly. I saw the sharp brink, outlined against the blue-green ocean. Then I was over, the platform rising rapidly above me, nothing around but empty air. I was falling sideways. I thrashed around, trying to get into my gliding position. There! I felt myself grab the air, my descent slowing. I looked around. I was below all the platforms and clouds. I would have to glide until I either reached the ground (which, incidentally, would have to be the Floating Island), or find an updraft. At least Metal Sonic couldn't follow me.   
  
Well, it wouldn't be the first time I had been wrong. I heard the cursed robot's engines as he dove off the platform. I glanced over my shoulder. He was flying upright with his hands at his sides, head turned in my direction. "Prepare to die, vermin!"   
  
Mecha's preferred method of combat was hand-to-hand, but he also had some pretty nifty weapons at his disposal. He proceeded to use them on me.   
  
The first round of rockets missed by a hair. They passed so close I felt the heat from their jets. I banked to one side, even as I felt myself break out in a cold sweat. He was shooting to kill, and gliding is not exactly the most maneuverable way to fly.   
  
Lasers cut the air around me, thick and fast as hornets. I wove and ducked, praying he would miss.   
  
The lasers did.   
  
The missile didn't.   
  
He must have realized he couldn't hit me directly, so he shot a missile right by me and detonated it.   
  
The concussion struck me from the side and literally blew me out of the sky. I was stunned, toppling end over end like a piece of paper. I couldn't move or think--the world was a spinning blur and rushing wind. I knew I was falling.   
  
Something dark whizzed by me. I thought it was Mecha, but couldn't be sure. I didn't know which way was up, and my body wouldn't obey my commands. I was curled in the fetal position, limbs stiff. I couldn't breathe.   
  
A very large object struck me from above, grabbed me and checked my fall. My teeth came together with a snap. The only thought in my head was that Metal Sonic had decided to attack a different way. I wanted to struggle, but could not. I couldn't move at all.   
  
What happened next is hazy and jumbled. I guess the missile blast had almost killed me. I remember being laid down gently on a mossy platform, and feeling a pair of hands massaging my stiffened limbs. Its face was not that of a robot--it was rectangular, like a lizard's, and had dark green eyes. They were the color of the Master emerald, I remember thinking. It was speaking to me, but I could not understand it. I couldn't understand anything.   
  
As if from a distance, there came the sound of metal on flesh. The lizard pitched forward and vanished from my range of vision. Then Mecha Sonic was kneeling over me, raking my body with his scanners. He spoke aloud, but, like the lizard, I couldn't understand him. I felt his arms go under me, then lift. Where were we going? The motion made the world pitch and rock again. Then all sound faded away, and everything went black.   
  


* * *

  
  
I wasn't entirely unconscious. I knew I was being carried very rapidly though the air. I knew when we entered a dark, cool place. We passed under roaring fans. A space of time after that, Mecha tossed me on the floor like a sack of grain. I was aware of the dull clang my body made as it struck the floor. It hurt a little. Then I was alone, staring through half-open eyes at the mesh ceiling.   
  
I lay there for a long time. The chill of the metal floor worked its way into the backs of my arms, legs and shoulders. Cool air was moving over me. I didn't move, think, or even breathe much. I dimly knew that I was cold, but didn't care. I had a concussion, and my brain wasn't working properly.   
  
Someone knelt over me. In my mind, it was my father right after I had nearly destroyed the island. I was eight years old again, suffering from the only broken leg I ever had. As it lifted me, I moaned, "Dad, I'm sorry--I shouldn't have tried to fly the island in that storm!"   
  
It's arms encircled me in a big hug, and a voice that was not my father's crooned, "Oh Knuckles, you are hurt worse than I had thought. That robot ..." I could understand it, although what it was saying did not register. The voice was strangely familiar.   
  
Another voice began to speak, sometimes coherently, sometimes in gibberish. I wished he's shut up; it was drawing me out of the comfortable numb place in my head. Sometimes I understood what he said--other times I didn't. I wondered if whoever was holding me could hear it. He never answered. He just rocked back and forth with me. It was oddly soothing.   
  
It wasn't until I awoke that I realized I was the one speaking. Abruptly I closed my mouth. What was I saying? Had I spilled my guts without knowing it? I had been betrayed once today--I didn't feel like going through it again. I felt the figure stroke the side of my face. It had been doing it for a while--I hadn't noticed it until them. I looked up. The green-eyed lizard. Funny, I had seen those eyes before, somewhere.   
  
"How do you feel?" it asked.   
  
My head ached a little, and I told it so. It gazed into my eyes. "You looked better, anyway."   
  
I stared back into its face. It had big brown patches around its eyes and along its muzzle. My first question surfaced. "Who are you?"   
  
"Slasher," it replied.   
  
"Have I ever seen you before?"   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Where?"   
  
"Carnival Night."   
  
Those eyes! That's where I had seen them--the creature that had stalked me through the darkness. I felt the impulse to run. Instead, she held me a bit tighter and whispered, "Shh. A robot is passing by." I froze. I could feel her heart beating against my cheek. After a moment I felt her relax. "There, it's gone. Can you stand?"   
  
She set me down. Yes, I could stand, but the action sent a surge of blood to my head. I held on to her arm until the nausea passed, then said, "Where the heck are we?"   
  
"Death Egg," Slasher replied simply. "Mecha wanted to test the latest robotizer prototype on you."   
  
I felt sick. That was what I had unwittingly done to Sonic. "What goes around comes around," I mumbled. But I thought of the island, and my fear of death faded. I guess I must have wilted, because Slasher looked at me strangely. "Whassamatter?" She sounded like Sonic.   
  
"I've failed as Guardian," I said. I didn't have the energy to explain, but she seemed to understand.   
  
"Ah. The Master is gone, correct?"   
  
I nodded.   
  
"Have you ever read about the super emeralds?"   
  
"No."   
  
"If you had, you'd be a little more optimistic."   
  
"Why?"   
  
"Because--"   
  
A laser bolt struck a beam just above my head. We both ducked. For the first time I realized we were in a sort of jail cell. The front was all bars, but the back wall had a panel taken out and slid aside. She grabbed me around the waist, lifted me off my feet and dove for the loose panel.   
  
It was dark. It took my eyes a few second to adjust, but I could feel we were jumping around, almost at random. Slowly I began to distinguish shapes. We were in the steel framing of the outer hull of Death Egg. Slasher was sure-footedly leaping from cross-beam to cross- beam. I looked down and felt my stomach lurch. There was no floor--just the skeletal structure of the ship ... miles and miles of it. If we fell, we would drop through that steel jungle, striking every beam in our way, until we reached the round underbelly of the ship.   
  
The velociraptor's movements were fluid and quick. I could feel her massive strength with each leap, and could hear the chink of her claws on the framing. My head was clearing quickly now, and the questions were coming. Where were we going? How had she got here? Why had Metal Sonic left? Why had she decided to help me when she had terrorized me in the Carnival?   
  
We were moving along the length of the Death Egg's hull. I couldn't see how she kept from slipping in the darkness, but guessed her night-vision was sharper than mine.   
  
"There."   
  
I saw it--a light shining across the framework.   
  
"How I got in," she said, voice clipped.   
  
One problem--it was on the INSIDE wall.   
  
A few more leaps and were were there. She stepped out, head jerking this way and that. I looked around as well. It was a little storage room, nothing special. There was a broken security camera on the floor (she must have found it on her way in), and the lock on the door had been forced.   
  
She set me down on my feet. I still didn't feel very well, but I could move all right. Standing beside my rescuer, I was struck with how big she was. Everything about her was big--eyes, wide chest, wings folded to her sides, legs, claws, tail--she stood five feet high at the hip, and her head and neck added a good foot and a half to that.   
  
She must have noticed my stare, for she chuckled. "Pleased to meet you, too, Knux. C'mon, let's get outta here. I gotta get you back to your island." Slasher stepped up to the door, swung it open a bit and looked out.   
  
"But hasn't it sank?" I protested.   
  
"Keep it down," she hissed. "No, it hasn't."   
  
"But won't it?"   
  
"Hush. There's no time for questions right now. We're in too much danger. C'mon." She beckoned to me, and we slipped out the door.   
  
Outside was a long, narrow corridor. I could see robots in the distance, but they didn't seem to be moving toward us. Quietly Slasher began to walk in the other direction. I followed her, wishing MY feet were padded. "Where're we going?" I whispered.   
  
"Back to the secondary docking bay," she whispered back. "It's closest."   
  
We crept down the hall, turned a corner, entered a machine room, crossed that, and entered another hall on the far side. There were no robots. I saw nothing wrong with this, but it worried my escort. "Too quiet," she murmured, looking around the empty hall. "Something's up. Best get on my back, Knux. If we need to run, I can carry you."   
  
She crouched and lowered one wing. Clumsily I climbed up and sat astride her back. Somehow, the way her wing muscles connected to her shoulders gave a really good place for a kneehold. I buried my feet beneath her warm wings. When she stood up again, I felt as if I were riding a tank.   
  
We had only been on the move a few minutes after this when Slasher stopped and said, "Hsst." I followed her gaze. Something was going on at the end of the tunnel. Laserblasts flashed, and voices shouted. A mob of robots were barreling in our direction. "Better run," I whispered.   
  
"In a minute," she replied.   
  
We sat there in the middle of the hallway, watching. I was pretty much oblivious to the danger, until a laser struck one of the wall struts a little ahead of us. We both jumped, but Slasher didn't seem ready to run. I crouched low, wishing I could burrow into her feathery wings and hide. More lasers zipped by, and the approaching noise grew louder. "Run!" I whispered frantically.   
  
"Not yet," she replied.   
  
Suddenly two things flashed by us, going about the speed of a bullet. I twisted around and stared after them. "What the heck was that?" I said.   
  
"Who do you think?" was the reply. Then Slasher whirled, opened a door to our right and dove through it.   
  
"Sonic?" I asked, hanging on for dear life. We were really hauling down this new hall. I could hear her long claws clicking on the floor. "Yes," the raptor said, glancing over her shoulder. "I would lay down flat if I were you."   
  
"Why?" I looked back. The big robots (and Metal Sonic) who had been chasing Sonic and Tails were now after us. I leaned forward and clung to Slasher's neck. Great. Now WE were in trouble.   
  
I heard Mecha's voice cry, "The reptile is taking the traitor! Kill them! Kill them!"   
  
Slasher heard him, too, and growled resentfully, "I'm not a reptile, stupid."   
  
That was easy for HER to say. I WAS a traitor.   
  
Laser beams ripped past us. I felt Slasher pull her wings in tight against my legs, trying to make herself as small as target as possible. I was already lying as flat as I could, and there wasn't much else I could do.   
  
Then she did the last thing I expected. Slasher stopped, whirled, and charged into the oncoming robots. Ever tried to ride a bucking horse? That's the closest I can get to describing it. She reared up, kicked out with her powerful hindlegs, turned and lashed her long tail, then pounced and kicked again.   
  
I would have fallen off if my legs hadn't been anchored beneath her warm wings. Even so, I was suffering from severe whiplash by the time she finished. The entire squadron had been leveled. Metal Sonic was gone--I assume he fled. I sat up and rubbed the back of my neck. Slasher looked back at me. "You okay?"   
  
My neck hurt too much to nod, so I said, "I guess so. I see where you got your name."   
  
She smiled, showing her long white teeth. "It fits, doesn't it? Hang on, now. The docking bay is just around the corner."   
  
It was. We stepped through a large steel door and stood on a large windy platform. There were two long stalls stretching out into space-- places for big hovercraft to dock. We were a long ways up; the air was thin and cold. Slasher opened her wings, hitting my legs with a draft of cold air. Suddenly I wasn't so secure anymore. I dug my knees into her flanks. "Good," she said, "you know more about riding than you think. Put your arms around my neck and lay flat again." I obeyed. "There, now you won't lose your balance when I take off. Hold on tight."   
  
I felt her muscles surge, and she began to run toward the edge of the empty docking bay. My stomach twisted. It was like sitting at the top of a rollercoaster, waiting for the moment you pitch forward and the ride begins.   
  
One moment there was solid platform below--the next there was nothing but space. I saw the big wings begin to flap, and felt the muscles pump. We were airborne.   
  
I dared not sit up for a long time, but I did manage to turn my head and look around a little. I saw Death Egg's ugly side behind and to our left. We were far down, near it's underbelly. I saw the ground far below, hazy blue with distance and clouds between us. I couldn't tell if we were above ocean or land. All I would hear was the roar of the wind in my ears and the steady whoosh, whoosh of Slasher's wings. It was cold. The air chilled my back, but my front was pressed against Slasher's warm back, so it wasn't too bad.   
  
We were descending. Going down doesn't take as much energy as going up, and often Slash would stop flapping and just glide. We didn't say much until we had dropped below cloud level, the wind had slacked and it was warmer. "You can sit up, now," she said over her shoulder. "Take it slow and keep your balance.   
  
I sat up very, very slowly. It was kind of fun to look around properly. We were still a long ways up. The ocean spread out below, a solid blue-green. As I looked at it, my enthusiasm faded. The island ... the Floating Island wasn't in sight.   
  
I guess Slasher knew what I was thinking. "Oh, it's still afloat," she said. She dipped left and pointed. I looked, and with relief saw the little green-and-brown patch that was my home. It had descended into the ocean and was floating in the water. "How come it hasn't sank?" I asked. "I was always told the island would collapse if the Master emerald was stolen."   
  
"Well," Slasher answered quietly, "you have Sonic and Tails to thank for that. They used your teleporters to go to Hidden Palace and used the chaos emeralds to make the supers appear. They've been hidden for centuries, you know."   
  
I nodded. "I know my history. I knew they had brought them back, but I didn't know the chaos ..."   
  
"Sonic and Tails charged each super," Slasher told me. "Which is why they were so exhausted during the last leg of their journey. They were drained seven times of their energy."   
  
I thought of Sandopolis and watching Sonic and Tails come out of the teleporter and collapse. I was ashamed. Sonic had told me that if I knew what they were doing I would thank them a thousand times over. And he was right.   
  
As the island grew below us, I thought about everything that had happened. I had been tricked and worked with one of the most dangerous scientists on the planet. I had helped construct Metal Sonic. I had willingly allowed part of my island to be burned. And I had fought Sonic and Tails all the way down the line, thinking that somehow THEY were responsible for MY bad decisions. Come to find out that not only had I been on the wrong side, but Sonic and Tails were working to save my island. If not for them, who knows where I'd be right now.   
  
We were quite low by this time. "Where do you want to land?" Slasher asked me.   
  
I considered. Someplace open, where we could watch the sky. Marble Gardens was the closest. "Marble Gardens," I said, pointing down and right. Slasher banked right and we dropped sharply. At the last second she flared out her wings, and we landed as gently as a falling leaf.   
  
I slid off her back and nearly fell over. My legs were cramped and felt like blocks of wood. I stretched, then stamped around to get my blood flowing again. Man, it was good to be on solid ground again-- and to know my island wasn't going to sink. The dull misery I had felt since leaving Hidden Palace was gone.   
  
Slasher lifted one wing and ran her teeth through the feathers at its base. "Boy, what a flight," she commented. "I hope I don't have to do it again."   
  
I looked up at her curiously. "Do it again?"   
  
She cocked her head and looked up at the sky. "You weren't the only one on Death Egg."   
  
That's right. Sonic and Tails were still up there, and so was the Master emerald. I looked up, too, but the only things in the sky were a few wispy clouds.   
  
The big velociraptor settled herself on the warm grass, spread a wing and began to straighten her feathers. She acted as if nothing were wrong. It wasn't until a long time afterward I learned to read her, and realized she was as worried as it it possible to be. But at the time she seemed very calm, and it steadied me.   
  
I stood and watched her preen a moment. She seemed to be in no hurry to go anywhere or do anything. There was nothing to do but wait, anyway. I sat down on the grass and looked up at the sky. Maybe if I looked hard enough--ah, that was hard on my neck. I lay down. That was better. Now I could view the whole wide sky--   
  
Before I knew it, my eyelids had sneaked shut on me, and I was sound asleep. 

* * *

  
  
Slasher's voice talking to somebody was what woke me up. I sat up, rubbing the haze from my eyes. "Sonic and Tails back yet?" I asked.   
  
"Nope," she replied. "Just Espio."   
  
Espio! I had forgotten all about him. What would have happened if the island HAD crashed, and ... Was he mad at me? I stood up. Gosh, I must have slept a long time. The sun had moved and the shadows had changed. I felt rested and ready to go.   
  
Espio, a dark jungle-green this time, was sitting next to Slasher, talking. I noticed both her wings were immaculate, every feather in place. "C'mere, Knux. We were watching Death Egg."   
  
I walked up to them. "Death Egg? Where?"   
  
Both lizards turned and pointed north. I looked and looked and finally spotted it. It could have been a distant hawk, but for the plume of brown smoke trailing it. I shaded my eyes with both hands to see better.   
  
"It was really high," Espio said. "We thought it would have gone down by the time you woke up."   
  
"I didn't mean to fall asleep," I said, sitting down beside him. "Sorry I sort of abandoned you."   
  
"That's okay," he said good-naturedly. "Slasher, here, has been telling me about your exploits."   
  
I rolled my eyes. "You mean about how absolutely stupid I was."   
  
"You weren't stupid," Slasher said quietly, folding her arms and gazing directly at me. "Just deceived."   
  
"Yeah," I said ironically, "and I got what I deserved. If I hadn't been so dumb, Sonic and Tails wouldn't be up there right now." My eyes sought out the dark speck in the blue sky. Espio and Slasher followed my gaze.   
  
It was at that moment the Death Egg erupted into an orange and white fireball. The speck enlarged to about the size of a golfball held against the sky, the edges a deep red. It slowly faded, a cloud of smoke rising from it, stuff that looked like dust settling downward. We knew that had to be the debris. We heard nothing of the explosion.   
  
Involuntarily we all looked down. "Well," said Espio, "that's the end of the Death Egg."   
  
"I hope they weren't on it," I said. I had a terrible suspicion they were, though.   
  
"They've had plenty of time to get away," Slasher said reassuringly. "And I don't think it would have blown up if they hadn't done something. Like taking the Master emerald."   
  
I looked at her with sudden hope and relief. "You think so?   
  
She bobbed her head. "Battlestations like that don't blow up without a very good reason."   
  
We all sat in silence for another moment, watching the colors of the explosion fade from the sky, leaving a smoky shadow behind. A meadowlark sang. A breeze touched my face. The island was safe, I knew, but at what price? Were my friends dead somewhere up there?   
  
Abruptly Slasher lifted her head and gazed south. A second later she jumped to her feet, said, "Excuse me, please," spread her wings and was gone. Espio and I watched her go. Man, she could fly fast. She was out of sight in a moment. "Boy, what's the rush?" the chameleon muttered. He turned a hot pink all over, then turned to me. "So, where you been?"   
  
I looked at him a little curiously. "Slash didn't tell you?"   
  
"She told me about you and the island, not what's been going on. C'mon, spill. Why were you bemoaning your stupidity?"   
  
Slasher hadn't been putting me down, as I had thought. She had left it to me to explain myself to my friend. Wow. She actually cared about my self-image!   
  
I gazed off in the direction she had gone, wondering how to begin. But as I did, I noticed a winged shape coming back. Espio saw her, too.   
  
"Gosh, that was quick," I murmured. "I wonder what--" I stopped, my eyes riveted on the thing flying along behind the raptor. Then Espio and I were on our feet, staring in surprise.   
  
A certain shiny red bi-plane, well known to me by now, was slowly flying in. As it drew nearer, we could see Sonic, glowing brightly, seated on the upper wing, arms wrapped around the glowing Master emerald. It was about as big as he was. He saluted me as they flew over. I saluted back.   
  
I can hardly describe my feelings. I don't suppose everyone has had a precious treasure returned to them. I suppose you could say I was jumping around, cheering wildly.   
  
Anyway, Tails finally landed the plane. (Slasher had landed, too, but she was standing back watching us.) It had hardly stopped before I had scrambled up on the wing with Sonic, looking at and touching the Master emerald.   
  
"Wait a minute, Knux," he said, chuckling. "Get down and I'll hand it to you." I obeyed. He lifted the immense gem easily, crouched and lowered it. I took it with a grunt. I'm pretty strong, but hoo boy, we're talking heavy, here! I couldn't even support it and had to set it down. Sonic must be very strong as hyper.   
  
He jumped down beside me. Tails climbed out of the cockpit and went straight to Slasher. I hardly noticed.   
  
"Hey, Knux," Sonic said. He sounded tired. I looked up at him from my examination of the emerald. He bent down, rolled the Master over on its side and indicated the bottom tip. I stared--the tip was gone. About three inches had been cut off cleanly. I touched it gingerly, as one might a wound.   
  
"Robotnik did it," Sonic murmured. "He cut it to get it to work in his laser. Metal Sonic had the piece, and used it to become super--or something like it. We tried to get it from him, but he threw it off the edge of the Death Egg. Sorry."   
  
I had never heard Sonic sound so low, even in Hidden Palace. I went over the Master again with a fine-toothed comb. When I looked up again, Sonic had decharged himself. He looked a lot smaller normal--and he also looked totally exhausted. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his head drooped. "My legs hurt," he muttered. "I gotta lay down somewhere ..." He turned away from me.   
  
Sonic's attitude and the missing piece of the Master sort of sobered me. I couldn't budge the Master by myself, so I left it by the bi-plane and joined the others.   
  
Sonic flopped down unceremoniously and closed his eyes. Tails, Slasher and Espio were a few feet away from him. Espio was just sort of standing there, watching Tails. The fox had his arms around Slasher's neck, crying fit to beat the band. Slasher just held him comfortingly, but looked a little bewildered. "What's wrong with him?" I asked. Slasher shook her head, then said, "Stress."   
  
Not knowing what to do, I sat down beside Sonic. He opened his eyes and looked at me, then folded his arms behind his head.   
  
"What's wrong with Tails?" I asked him, concerned.   
  
He gave me a weary look and said flatly, "Remember the four flickies of his? They killed themselves keeping him alive."   
  
I gave Tails a pitying glance. "Poor kid."   
  
"Yeah." How could Sonic be so callous? Didn't he care?   
  
Well, Sonic did care. Very much. But at the moment, Slasher had things covered, and he was too tired to push himself anymore. (He told me this afterward.)   
  
Gradually Tails's sobs subsided, and he was able to recount the death of the flickies. I think that was the only time he ever talked about it. He never mentioned the subject again if he could help it. 

* * *

  
  
Well, Sonic fell asleep for a couple hours. Tails asked for something to eat, but by the time I got some stuff and came back, he had flaked, too.   
  
Me, Espio and Slasher took the opportunity to get the Master emerald back where it belonged. It took all three of us to lift it, lug it through a teleporter I made, and heave it back into its pedestal. By the time we finished and warped back to Marble Gardens, the sun was setting and we were all hungry. Sonic, who woke up when we got back, suggested a hotdog roast; I assume so he could use the cans of chili he found stashed in the bi-plane. It was fine with everybody else, so Sonic and I wandered off to find some firewood.   
  
There's only scrub brush in Marble Gardens, and it doesn't burn too well. We hiked out to the carnival and found some wood in the trees nearby.   
  
As we selected the driest sticks we could find, I asked, "Whassamatter, Sonic? Heck, you're always a lot livelier than this." I spoke from experience.   
  
He nodded and looked away. "Yeah. It's just--" He conveniently bent to retrieve a small branch.   
  
"Just what?" I prodded.   
  
He stood up, eyes on the sticks in his arms. "Oh, lots of things, Knux."   
  
I snapped a dead limb off a tree. "Like what?"   
  
He turned and looked me full in the face, as if about to give a confession. I faced him as well and waited. "Knuckles, we lost the flickies. We lost a chunk out of the Master emerald. The flickies took Tails's chaos emeralds. And--" He shifted his load to one arm, stuck his free hand's fingers in his mouth, bit down and pulled his hand out of his glove.   
  
The shock of seeing his robot hand was almost as bad the second time. It gleamed dully in the fading light, each joint plated individually. "And this," he finished almost angrily. "I'm doomed to be part robot for the rest of my life. Mecha said it's permanent. Now you see why I've been brooding?   
  
I had to look away. The guilt was still fresh, and the horror of the metal clinging to his fingers. He didn't put his glove back on, and I heard the muffled clanks as he picked up wood. I sneaked a look at him. The sudden anger had passed, and he appeared totally depressed. Wearily he stood up and looked at me. "I think we've got enough wood now."   
  
For the first time I noticed we had about as much wood as we could carry. I nodded. "Yeah. Let's head back."   
  
Sonic moved slowly, heavily, eyes on the ground. I watched him as we walked. Something had gone out of him. I didn't understand until he lifted his bare hand, glanced at it and hurriedly dropped it to his side. Then I knew. It was as if his body had been violated. His hands no longer belonged to him.   
  
We were about halfway back when the idea hit me. I stopped. Sonic noticed and did, too. "What's wrong?"   
  
I set my load on the ground. "Sonic, let me see your hands."   
  
He dumped his wood on the grass, pulled off his other glove and held out his hands. I suppressed a shiver as I touched them--the metal was warm. I forced myself to examine them closely with a mixture of revulsion and excitement. "Sonic," I said, taking ahold of a metal segment and wiggling it back and forth, "does this hurt?"   
  
"No."   
  
"What about this?" I yanked a wire.   
  
"No. Ow, yes! What'd you do?"   
  
"Where did it hurt?"   
  
"It pinched the side of my finger." He jerked his hand away and rubbed it. "Don't do that."   
  
My excitement was growing. "Sonic, know what this means?"   
  
"A new torture method?"   
  
"No ... that stuff can come off!"   
  
He stared at me in disbelief. "You're kidding. But Mecha said--"   
  
"Forget what Mecha said!" I interrupted, a wide grin taking over my face. "Doc reverse-engineered the robotizer from a prototype he stole from an inventor in Mobitropolis. He didn't have it completely figured out yet. All it did was put a sort of electronic covering over your hands. Like gloves. It didn't penetrate your skin. And I can take it off!"   
  
He didn't believe me. "You sure?"   
  
"I'll prove it! When we get back, I'll get some of my tools and cut it all off. I'm sure I can!"   
  
Sonic slowly pulled his gloves back on, turning this information over in his head. He didn't say a word until we had picked up our armloads of sticks and had resumed walking. Then he looked at me and said bluntly, "Knux, you're a genius." 

* * *

  
  
I proved my ingenuity that evening after dinner. I got out my wirecutters, screwdriver and pliers, and in three hours time Sonic's hands were de-robotized.   
  
We talked as I worked. "You know," Sonic said, "you've got a monster in Sandopolis."   
  
I looked up at him, startled."What?"   
  
"Yeah," Tails chimed in. "It chased us through the pyramid, then opened the floor and dropped us into Lava Reef."   
  
I smiled ruefully. "Did it have a hood and cape, and it's face was like stone?"   
  
Sonic and Tails exchanged a glance, then nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?"   
  
My embarrassed smile widened to a grin. I ducked my head and mumbled, "That was me. Sorry."   
  
I guess their surprise was so great it was comical. Espio burst out laughing, and even Slasher cracked a smile. "You--you mean YOU were that thing?" Sonic asked incredulously.   
  
I nodded. "Yup. I wanted to give you a scare."   
  
"You sure did that!" Tails exclaimed. "Did you drop us into that shaft on purpose?"   
  
"No." I shook my head and returned my gaze to Sonic's hand. "I climbed the wall to glide after you, and my foot touched a loose brick. I guess it was a trigger."   
  
We didn't say anything for a long time. I had a question for them, but couldn't remember it at the moment. After a while it came to me. "Hey Sonic, what did you guys do in Lava Reef before I got there?"   
  
Sonic looked at Tails, then me. "Do? What do you mean?"   
  
I lifted my head and looked at him. "C'mon. You two were down there twenty-four hours before I got to you."   
  
"We were?" Sonic looked blank. "It didn't seem that long ... we woke up when the lights came on, and--"   
  
"I turned the lights on when I got there," I interrupted. "You slept the whole time?"   
  
He and Tails looked at each other. "I THOUGHT we slept a long time," Tails said, eyes narrowing.   
  
I didn't understand. "What? Were you hurt or something?"   
  
"No," Sonic said slowly, pulling his hand away from me and looking at it. "I remember smelling something ... like gas. It made me sleepy."   
  
Ah, that was it. I stabbed my screwdriver into the grass thoughtfully. "That's why the secondary lighting wouldn't come on. All the gas must have leaked out. It's kind of like chloroform--breathe it and you're out. It's called oxymoro--oxmorobi--bi--it's about this long." I held my thumb and forefinger three inches apart.   
  
I took Sonic's hand again as he said, "Well, that explains it. No wonder we had such a time balance to recover."   
  
An hour passed. I finished his left hand and was setting to work on his right. He kept looking at his freed hand and touching things, amazed he could feel them.   
  
Espio and Tails were asleep by then. The sky was covered with stars and the moon had risen a ways. Slasher kept tossing wood on the fire so I could see what I was doing. We had all been quiet for a while--Sonic's attention was fixed on what I was doing--but Slasher broke the lull.   
  
"Sonic," she said softly. I had my back to her and was facing Sonic, so I saw him look up, then lift his left hand and catch a small object. He held it so I could see it. A flake of stone with a strange word written on it. I recognized it as a piece of the devestated mural, not far from where we were camped.   
  
I snipped a wire as Slasher said, "Finally got it translated."   
  
Sonic's eyes brightened. "Yeah?"   
  
I heard Slasher shift positions. "The language is Old Mobian. Let me tell you, I had to do some serious studying to figure out that little word. Turns out it means speed, swiftness, or--get this--the speed of sound."   
  
"Sonic," I and the hedgehog breathed simultaneously. He looked at me--something had clicked. "Knux, Slash--that mural was about US! The blue figure was me, the yellow one was Tails, and the red one was you, Knux. That last picture--the tapestry in Hidden Palace--was when I became hyper, chased down Robotnik and got the Master back." He drew a breath, eyes moving from me to Slasher and back again.   
  
I stared at him vacantly. I had often looked at that mural, wondering what it meant. I knew the pictures by heart. It all fit ... our battle in Hidden Palace ... Robotnik stealing the Master while we fought ... Sky Sanctuary, where I helped them board the Death Egg ... and Sonic's solitary battle with Robotnik in the sky. It was all there.   
  
"Well," I said slowly, trying to remember the history of the island Dad had taught me, "I've heard that the first guardians were time travellers of some kind. Maybe ..."   
  
My eyes met Sonic's. He shook his head a bit and breathed, "Coolll ..."   
  
No more was said for a long time. I worked on Sonic's hand uninterrupted. By the time I finished, he had climbed into his sleeping bag and was half-asleep. As I put away my tools and picked up the bits of metal and wire, he said sleepily, "Knux, this time yesterday you hated my guts. I never thought ..."   
  
I brushed my dreadlocks out of my face and smiled. "Me neither, Sonic. Me neither." 

* * *

  
  
But as the five on the Floating Island drifted off to sleep, another crucial scene was being played out on the Flying Battery blimp.   
  
"Doctor, your left arm is in critical condition. Neither I nor a professional could piece it together again."   
  
Robotnik's knuckles whitened and he gripped the arm of his chair with his right hand. His left arm, fingertip to shoulder, was heavily bandaged. "Metal Sonic, I can't afford to lose this arm. Isn't there anything you can do?"   
  
The blue robot, hands clasped behind his back, shook his head. "No. The burn, together with the circulation being cut off when the cockpit was dented ... Gangrene is inevitable. Your limb is dead."   
  
Robotnik glowered at his arm, as if it had done it on purpose. "Mecha, I have to have both hands to work on my machines. I can't have it simply amputated!" He pounded his good fist against the arm of his chair in helpless anger.   
  
A moment later he looked at his henchman and growled, "Do you have any suggestions, bright boy?"   
  
Metal Sonic didn't answer. Instead, he shot a wicked sidelong glance at a machine in the corner.   
  
Robotnik followed his gaze, then recoiled. "No. No, I won't do that."   
  
"You said yourself that the robotizer can save injured limbs," the robot said pointedly. "Besides, you don't have anyone to test this version on. Wouldn't it be imposing for the overlord of Mobius to rule with a literal iron fist?"   
  
Robotnik weakened. Perhaps Mecha had a point. He had always been curious as to robotization, anyhow, and--   
  
Ten minutes later, Robotnik stood before a map in the control room of Flying Battery, left arm clad entirely in metal. This type of robotization, however, was different from Sonic's. It was the tried and true version he would use in later years--the one that filled the limbs of victims with wiring instead of remaining external.   
  
With his gleaming silver hand, Robotnik pointed to a spot on the map. "Target: Mobitropolis. Capital of the world. I'm already on good terms with the king--under the alias 'Julian', of course--and with a little maneuvering, I'm sure we can get that little political misunderstanding to flare into a war. And then--"   
  
"The first step in ruling Mobius," Metal Sonic finished. The two exchanged an uproarious laugh at the simplicity of their plan--an evil laugh.   
  
And the rest is history ...   
  


The End


End file.
